Occupational Accidents Occur Per Minute
The effects of multiple factors on the health of workers are in an epidemiological profile characterized by the coexistence of typical diseases, occupational diseases (occupational hearing loss, acute poisoning by pesticides and heavy metals, skin diseases and respiratory diseases) and recently associated with work (cancer, occupational asthma, stress, cardiovascular disease and osteomyoarticular). There are also re-emerging diseases such as leptospirosis, dengue, malaria and tuberculosis. The ILO has estimated that in Latin America and the Caribbean 36 occupational accidents occur per minute and about 300 workers die every day as a result of these accidents. It also indicates that nearly 5 million occupational accidents that occur annually and of these, 90 000 are fatal 6.
In accordance with the principles of WHO and ILO, a healthy individual, disabled or chronically ill should be given the opportunity to participate actively in the workforce, without risk of danger to their health or ability to work. In the Report on World Health on the reduction of risks in particular, indicates that reducing them could result in all countries to a significant increase in healthy life expectancy of 10 years. It would make greater use of cost-effective interventions and strategies to reduce risk among entire populations 9. No doubt the welfare and health of workers contribute to economic progress and development of countries, remains an area where there are both social and economic interests and which is of essential community mobilization and workers in all sectors to achieve the foundations of health promotion, welfare and equity.
Phenomena not well planned industrialization, growth of working-age populations, the use of new foreign technologies not adapted to physiologic conditions include, elementary aspects that influence the current situation and create new problems in the occupational health. It is necessary therefore that we develop our strategy for healthy work environment is a set of Actions which are basically promotional, preventive and participatory, which recognizes the right of workers to perform their working activities in a healthy and appropriate and be informed about the risks of the work environment in relation to their health, welfare and survival, as well as take an active role in the elimination and (or) mitigation of adverse environmental factors that affect labor welfare and quality of life on the basis of the definitions of their responsibilities and duties in relation to the protection and recovery of the work environment and health, and has as main objective to obtain further improvements in health and safety indicators, framed within the Regional Plan Occupational Health.