الاحتفال باليوم العالمي للسلامة والصحة في بيئة العمل 28 أبريل 2007

تم الأحتفال باليوم العالمي للسلامة والصحة المهنية في بيئة العمل لأول مره في سلطنة عمان في عام 2007 ، وذلك لمشاركة الأسرة الدولية في تفعيل هذا اليوم حيث هدف هذا الأحتفال إلى رفع الوعي عن الصحة والسلامة المهنية في السلطنة بين مختلف القطاعات . المزيد ...

Introduction

The “World Day for Safety and Health at Work” was successfully celebrated in the Sultanate of Oman at the Crowne Plaza Muscat on 28 April 2007 and attended by officials from the Government and private sectors.  Presentations were conducted by Experts from World Health Organization (WHO), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Manpower (MMP), Royal Oman Police (ROP), Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI), and Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). 

There was also an Exhibition of health education materials (posters, books, etc.) on Occupational Safety and Health participated by Ministry of Manpower, Royal Oman Police (ROP), Public Authority on Social Insurance (PASI), along with PDO, OPAL, Shell Oman Marketing Company, Occidental of Oman, and Sohar Refinery Company.

There was extensive media coverage of the Celebration. In order to reach a wide range of Omani population, the theme message of 2007 World Day for Safety and Health at Work – “Safe and Healthy Work places – Making Decent Work A Reality” was sent through SMS to 200,000 Oman Mobile customers.  Also, it was featured on Oman TV, and aired twice on radio, and covered by Arabic newspapers - Oman Arabic, Al-Shabiba, and Al-Watan.

The full support and cooperation from among the participating sectors have contributed greatly to the success of celebration in Oman; thus, intersectoral cooperation should continually be strengthened to raise the public profile of Occupational Safety and Health in the Sultanate of Oman.

Background

The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is held on 28 April each year, a date that was recognized by the ILO in 2001, that internationally promotes ways of creating and sustaining a preventative safety and health culture at work.  The focus of the World Day 2007 is on the prevention of work-related accidents and ill-health through decent and safe work. The World Day for Safety and Health at Work is now observed annually, and last year over 100 countries with Governments, employers and workers together raised awareness of the benefits of safe, healthy and decent work.

In 2005 it was estimated that globally, about 2.2 million people die every year from occupational accident and diseases, representing approximately a ten per cent increase on previous estimates.  Some 270 million workers suffer serious non-fatal injuries and another 160 million workers suffer from short or long-term illness from work-related causes.

In 2006 and in order to monitor surveillance system on occupational injuries, the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health (DE&OH) in the Ministry of Health had developed a system in which a notification form was distributed to all government and private health institutions to notify occupational injuries.  This form contains all the necessary indicators to estimate the magnitude of the problem in Oman. 

The result of the first national estimate for occupational injuries is - 1089 injuries were reported including 3 cases of death.  The incidence is high with the total of 1.8 injuries per 1000 workers per year, in which 2.8 injuries were Omanis per 1000 workers per year.

Objective

Most accidents are preventable and sound prevention needs to be implemented systematically by national authorities through the guidance on international practices developed by ILO.  Due to the relevance and importance of this global occupational safety awareness, the Sultanate of Oman through the Environmental and Occupational Health Department, Ministry of Health have initiated to adopt this strategy to promote ways of creating and sustaining preventive safety measures to ensure that people can work safely in decent work places.  Thus, the “World Day for Safety and Health at Work” was celebrated successfully in Oman on 28th April 2007 to promote and create national awareness for healthier and safer working environment in order to reduce mortality in work-related accidents or from occupational diseases and ill-health through decent and safe work.  The objectives are mainly:

• To foster commitments to develop national strategies;
• To promote continuous improvement of occupational safety and health to prevent occupational injuries, diseases and deaths;
• To take active steps towards achieving progressively a safe and healthy working environment;
• To lead positive changes in the working environment for the benefit of all – workers, employers, and society as a whole.

Programme

The Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Ministry of Health in support of global practices on occupational safety and health, had devised a systematic approach to create national awareness for safety and health in the working places.  In this context, the programme during the celebration of World Day of Safety and Health at Work went as follows:

• After the reading of the Holy Qur’an, the Inaugural Speeches were delivered by H. E. Al-Sayed Hamad bin Hilal Al-Busaidi, Undersecretary of Manpower and H.E. Dr. Jehan Tawila, WHO Representative Oman

 

• Video presentation of message from the Director of Safe Work, ILO (Ms. Sameera Al-Tuwaijri) for  World Day for safety and Health at Work 2007

 

• Presentation on “Occupational Health is an Economical & Social Investment” by Dr. Said Arnaout (WHO Adviser for Health of Special Groups, EMRO)

 

• Presentation on “Health promotion in work places – Future Vision” by Dr. Salim Said Al-Wahaibi, Director of Environmental & Occupational Health (DE&OH), MOH

• Presentation on “Occupational Health Injuries in Oman 2006” by Dr. Issa Said Al-Shuaili, Specialist and Head of Occupational Health (DE&OH), MOH

 

• Presentation on “Role of Ministry of Manpower to promote safety and health at work” by Mr. Al-Khatab Zahran Al-Hinai, Head of Safety, Ministry of Manpower

• Presentation on “The Role of Civil Defence in Occupational Health Prevention” by Capt. Hassan Saoud Al-Salmi, NQB, Civil Defence, Royal Oman Police (ROP)

 

• Presentation on “The Role of Public Authority on Social Insurance (PASI) in Occupational Injury Compensation” by Dr. Mohammed Abdulrazaq (PASI)

• Presentation on “HSE in Oil Companies:  Challenges and Opportunities” by Mr. Abdullah Said Al-Mahruqi, Facilities and Business Support Manager / UIB, PDO

 

• The Celebration was also highlighted by exhibition of educational safety materials (posters, books, etc) from ILO, WHO, MOH, MOP, ROP, PASI, PDO, OPAL, Shell, Occidental of Oman, and Sohar Refinery.  The exhibition was aimed to share and provide appropriate and adequate educational information in occupational safety and health within the employers and workers in the Government and private sectors.

 

• Educational materials were distributed to all participants, namely:  (1) “What do you know about Occupational Health” in Arabic, (2) The ILO Report for World Day and Health at Work, Geneva, 2007, and (3) posters from ILO and WHO on Occupational Health (English & Arabic).

• Partnership Agreement on Initiative for Health Safety Promotion at Work Place was signed by all participants.

Participants

Ministry of Manpower

• HE AL-Sayed Hamad Al-Busaidi, HE Undersecretary of Manpower
• Khalifa Al-Wahaibi – Director of Occupational Health
• Al-Khatab Zahran Al-Hinai – Head of Safety Section, Occupational Health Dept

World Health Organization

• H.E. Dr. Jehan Tawila, WHO Representative Oman
• Ms. Ruth Mabry, Technical Officer, WHO Oman
• Ms. Suha, WHO Office

World Health Organization, EMRO

• Dr. Said Arnaout, WHO Advisor for Health of Special Groups, EMRO

Ministry of Health

• H.E. Dr. Ahmed Abdulkadir Al-Ghassany, Undersecretary of Health Affairs
• Mr. Saif Al-Nabhani, Director General of Planning
• Officials / Representatives from all Departments of Directorate General of Health Affairs
• Dr. Salim Said Al-Wahaibi – Director, Environmental & Occupational Health (DE&OH)
• Dr. Majed Al-Zedjali – Director of Malaria Eradication
• Dr. Issa Said Al-Shuaili – Specialist & Head of Occupational Health, DE&OH
• Mr. Mohammed Al-Salti – Occupational Health, DE&OH
• Mr. Tawfiq Al-Harthi – Occupational Health, DE&OH
• Adi Mehdi Al-Shukaili, Head of Administration, DE&OH
• Abdullah Al-Fadhli, Senior Finance Clerk, DE&OH

Royal Oman Police

• Capt. Hassan Saoud Al-Salmi - NQB, Civil Defence
• Aqeed Hassan Al-Zedjali – Civil Defence

Public Authority on Social Insurance (PASI)

• Dr. Mohammed Abdul Razaq, Medical Consultant, PASI

Ministry of Education

• Ms. Zeyana Salim Al-Harthi – Head, Curriculum Development

Omani Workers Association

• Official Representative

Ministry of Regional Municipalities, Environment & Water Resources

• Official Representative

Occidental of Oman

• Mr. Sadiq Al-Lawati - Vice President, Health Environment & Safety
• Ms. Suad Al-Hinai, Occupational Health Nurse  99315239
• Ms. Muzmina Al-Shahebi, Assistant HES
• Mr. Jaffar Al-Nadabi, HES Dept

Oman LNG

• Mr. Amor Nasser Al-Matani, Deputy General Manager, LNG
• Mr. Ali Al-Hashar - Acting Corporate Affairs Manager
• Dr. Abdul Elah Al-Ghailani – Head, Occupational Health & Medical Services

Petroleum Development Oman

• Abdullah S.N Al-Mahruqi, Facilities & Business Support Manager, UIB / PDO
• Mr. Ali Al-Mandhry – Director of Laboratories, PDO

 
Shell Representative Office, Oman

• Mr. Mohammed Ali Al-Balushi - Office Manager

Shell Oman Marketing Company SAOG

• Abdulwahid Abdulaziz Al-Farsi - External Affairs Manager
• Khamis Al-Siyabi, HSE Manager
• Kamil Mohammed Al-Lawati, HSE Manager

Reem Batteries & Power Appliances Co. SAOC

• S. Gopalan – Chief Executive Officer
• B. Misra, General Manager (Operations)
• C. K. Bopaiah, Sr. Manager (HSE & Training)

Schlumberger Overseas S.A.

• Thunaiyan Nasser, QHSE Manager

Sohar Port Industrial Company

• Engr. Suweid Al-Shemaisi - HSE Manager, Sohar Office

Sohar Refinery Company

• Engr. Juma Al-Obaidani, Environment Engineer

Oman Petroleum Association (OPAL)

• Official Representatives

Acknowledgement

We acknowledge with thanks the following for their great contribution to the Event, namely:

• H.E. Al-Sayed Hamad bin Hilal Al-Busaidi, Undersecretary of Manpower, MMP, who delivered Inaugural Speech
• H.E. Jehan Tawila, WHO Representative Oman, also delivered the Inaugural Speech
• Dr.  Said Arnaout (WHO Adviser for Health of Special Groups, EMRO) as the Short-term consultant
• Ms. Sameera Al-Tuwaijri, Director of Safe Work, ILO for providing a video presentation of main message for  World Day for safety and Health at Work 2007, and ILO for providing reference materials (video, posters, fliers, brochures)
• Oman LNG LLC for their financial support
• Dr. Abdul Elah Al-Ghailani (Head of Occupational Health & Medical Services, Oman LNG LLC) and Mr. Abdullah Said Al-Mahruqi, (Facilities and Business Support Manager / UIB, PDO) for assisting in organizing the Celebration
• Officials from Government and private sectors who provided programme presentations, namely:


• - Dr. Salim Said Al-Wahaibi, Director of Environmental & Occupational Health (DE&OH), MOH
• - Dr. Issa Said Al-Shuaili, Specialist and Head of Occupational Health (DE&OH), MOH
• - Mr. Al-Khatab Zahran Al-Hinai, Head of Safety, Ministry of Manpower
• - NQB Hassan Saoud Al-Salmi, ROP
• - Dr. Mohammed Abdulrazaq, Medical Consultant, Public Authority for Social Insurance (PASI)
• - Mr. Abdullah Said Al-Mahruqi, Facilities and Business Support Manager / UIB, PDO


• Participants during the Exhibition that provided  posters, books, etc.


• - Ministry of Manpower
• - Royal Oman Police
• - Public Authority on Social Insurance (PASI)
• - Petroleum Development of Oman
• - Oman Petroleum Aassociation
• - Shell Oman Marketing Company
• - Occidental of Oman
• - Sohar Refinery Company


• All those who attended
• Administrative & Secretarial Staff, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health (DE&OH), Ministry of Health

Annexes (copies on attached cd)

• Inaugural speech by H.E. Undersecretary of Manpower
• Inaugural speech by H.E. WHO Representative Oman
• Presentation of WHO Adviser for Health of Special Groups, EMRO/WHO
• Presentation of Director, DE&OH, Ministry of Health
• Presentation of Dr. Issa Al-Shuaili, DE&OH, Ministry of Health
• Presentation of Mr. Abdullah Al-Mahruqi, PDO
• Presentation of Ministry of Manpower
• Presentation of PASI
• Copy of partnership agreement
•  Media coverage in Arabic newspapers (Oman Arabic, Al-Shabiba,

      and Al- Watan)

•  Photo Gallery

Sources

• The ILO report for world day for safety and health at work, Geneva, 2007
• DE&OH Document:  Occupational Injuries in Oman, 2007