DHHS publication (NIOSH

The Global Plan of Action for Workers' Health was endorsed in May 2007 as Resolution 60.26 by the 193 WHO member states at the 60th World Health Assembly. The Global Plan of Action is based on the earlier WHO Global Strategy on Occupational Health for All, prepared in 1994 by the collaborating center network directors. The global strategy was used to develop a proposal to the 1996 World Health Assembly, which was endorsed as WHA Resolution 49.12 of 1996. The 2007 Global Plan of Action for Workers' Health provides a policy framework for renewed and intensive action to protect, promote and improve the health of all workers, with the goal of preventing occupational health risks and hazards. Its structure is the five objectives listed above. The resolution addresses all aspects of workers' health, including primary prevention of occupational hazards, protecting and promoting health at work, and improving the response of health systems to workers' health. It calls for traditional methods to assess and manage occupational risk in the workplace, which is a key area for action. It also calls for improving workers' health by involving other public health disciplines, such as chemical safety, environmental health, health systems, and disease prevention and control. It urges close collaboration with labor and other sectors, and all relevant stakeholders. Partners in many projects include the WHO occupational health staff in Geneva and in the six WHO Regional Offices, collaborating centers, institutions working toward designation as collaborating centers, nongovernmental organizations, country ministries, and international organizations of employers and workers. The Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Occupational Health helps WHO to provide assistance to countries. The network has been carrying out national, regional, and global projects to help countries implement their commitments to the Workers' Health: Global Plan of Action. The first of two recent common workplans was the 2009-2012 workplan, which enabled WHO to report accomplishments to the World Health Assembly in 2013. This booklet reports on the activities and successes of the 2009-2012 workplan and the 2012-2017 Global Master Plan, which is currently underway. Examples of successes are described in the following pages. The collaborating center projects in both workplans are examples of successes and are organized into five groups, each focused on one of the five Objectives of the Global Plan of Action for Workers' Health. The progress of projects was coordinated by volunteer managers from some of the collaborating centers, and by WHO staff in Geneva and in the Regional Offices. LOOKING FORWARD: The collaborating centers, nongovernmental organizations, and WHO staff in headquarters and the Regional Offices are actively moving forward within the Global Master Plan 2012-2017. Projects in this new plan continue to help WHO to produce products and assist countries meet their commitments in the WHO Global Plan of Action on Workers' Health (2008-2017): Resolution 60.26. A particular emphasis in both workplans has been to assist low resource countries and to share the practical tools, with new users implementing them and evaluating them.Suggested citation: NIOSH, FIOH [2016]. Improving workers\ue2\u20ac\u2122 health across the globe. Helsinki, Finland: the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2016 -118.NIOSHTIC No. 20048046success-stories_v01_nr04_n-compressed.pdfThe Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Occupational Health -- Workplan of the WHO Collaborating Centres for Occupational Health -- Policy Instruments on Workers\ue2\u20ac\u2122 Health -- Health at the Workplace -- Occupational Health Services -- Providing Evidence for Action and Practice -- Targeting High-Risk Industries and Vulnerable Worker Groups -- Appendix 1. Summary of Priorities of the 2009\ue2\u20ac\u201c2012 Workplan -- Appendix 2. The Network of WHO Collaborating Centres for Occupational Health, Institutes Working with WHO in Preparation for Designation, nongovernment organizations, and WHO/Network Leadership