Global Collaborations
Activities: NIOSH Collaborations with Global Partners
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Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centers in Occupational Health
NIOSH has been a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Americas region of the WHO, since 1976. The Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centers in Occupational Health assists WHO to carry out its global strategy on occupational health for all. The WHO Global Network of Collaborating Centers in Occupational Health includes the active participation of 64 collaborating occupational health centers on all continents, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and three international occupational non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have a formal relationship with the WHO occupational program, the International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH), the International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA), and the International Ergonomics Association (IEA).
The list of Collaborating Centers can be found on the WHO Web site. NIOSH chairs the WHO Global Network; Dr. Christine Branch, NIOSH Acting Director, is Chairperson; Dr. Marilyn Fingerhut serves as Co-Coordinator of the Global Network along with Evelyn Kortum, WHO Focal Point for Occupational Health.
WHO Occupational Health Web site
External Link: http://www.who.int/occupational_health/
Network of WHO Collaborating Centers in Occupational Health
External Link: http://www.who.int/occupational_health/network/en/index.html
Collaborating Centre Connection
Quarterly e-newsletter of the WHO Global Network of Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health.
View newsletter archives and/or subscribe to the Collaborating Centres Connection.
Global Strategy in Occupational Health
The WHO Global Strategy in Occupational Health is designed to:
- Provide evidence for policy, legislation and support to decision-makers, including work carried out to estimate the magnitude of the burden of occupational diseases and injuries.
- Provide infrastructure support and development through capacity building, information dissemination, and networking.
- Support protection and promotion of workers' health.
WHO also assists countries to develop or upgrade their national occupational health profiles and action plans, and to create the capacity to implement these plans. WHO has a focus on strengthening capacity building activities, developing practical solutions, and enhancing work of selected priority groups, such as healthcare workers.
The Global Network of Collaborating Centers in Occupational Health assists the WHO to carry out the Global Strategy in Occupational Health.
WHO Global Strategy on Occupational Health for All
External Link: http://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/globstrategy/en/index.html
Approved by the WHO World Health Assembly in 1996 (WHA49.12, Agenda item 17, Annex 1.)
Declaration on Occupational Health for All
External Link: http://www.who.int/entity/occupational_health/publications/declaration/en/index.html
Background document prepared by WHO and the Collaborating Centers in Occupational Health in preparation for the 1996 World Health Assembly.
What has been the value of the WHO Network of Collaborating Centers in Occupational Health?
The WHO Global Strategy on Occupational Health for All, which was approved by the WHO World Health Assembly in 1996, continues to fuel and motivate the activities within the WHO Global Program in Occupational Health. In recent years, recognition of the value of collaborative efforts led to the development of a common global agenda at the 5th Network meeting in Changmai, Thailand (2001). Agreement was reached to work together in fifteen occupational health priority areas that constitute the 2001-2005 WHO Global Collaborating Center Work Plan.
The 2006–2010 Work Plan of the WHO Global Network
The Global Plan of Action for Workers’ Health was passed by the World Health Assembly in May 2007 and includes the following objectives:
- Devise and implement policy instruments on worker health
- Protect and promote health at the workplace
- Improve performance and access to occupational health services
- Provide and communicate evidence for action and practice
- Incorporate workers’ health into other policies.
View the full text of the Global Plan of Action.
External link: http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA60/A60_R26-en.pdf
31 KB (8 pages)
International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS)
International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS)
External Link: http://www.who.int/ipcs/capacity_building/ghs_statement/en/index.html
The International Program on Chemical Safety (IPCS) was established in 1980. It is a joint program of three United Nations Cooperating Organizations – WHO, ILO, and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), that implement activities related to chemical safety. WHO is the Executing Agency of the IPCS; its main roles are to establish the scientific basis for safe use of chemicals and strengthen national capabilities and capacities for chemical safety.
IPCS has an established and internationally recognized leadership role in the preparation of risk assessments on specific chemicals, and for developing and harmonizing hazard and risk assessment methods. These products include Concise International Chemical Risk Assessment Documents, International Chemical Safety Cards, Pesticide Data Sheets, and Poisons Information Monographs. These products are of particular benefit to countries that may lack high levels of toxicological expertise. IPCS has already begun work to maximize the consistency of its hazard and risk assessment products with the Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS). This consistency will enable national governments to use these products more effectively in implementing the GHS at the national level.
Another area of cooperative global work where implementation of the GHS may become more important in the future is in the development of practical tools for controlling exposures to chemicals, particularly in small and medium size businesses. One of these tools, known as control banding, is currently being developed by WHO and ILO through IPCS. The purpose of control banding is to identify broad, simple, and effective control approaches by using the hazard classifications of chemicals identified through GHS in conjunction with information about exposure.
NIOSH is a collaborating partner in many of the IPCS activities. Additional information on NIOSH contributions can be found on several NIOSH Web pages:
International Labor Organization
The ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labor rights. The Organization formulates international labor standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations and sets minimum standards of basic labor rights such as freedom of association, the right to organize, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labor, equality of opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of work-related issues. ILO is the Organization’s research body and publishing house (ILO 2002). NIOSH collaborates with ILO, particularly with ILO InFocus Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment (SafeWork).
InFocus Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment (SafeWork)
External Link: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/
ILO International Occupational Safety and Health Information Center (CIS)
NIOSH has been an ILO CIS Center since 1970. CIS is the knowledge management arm of the ILO InFocus Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment (SafeWork). Its goal is to ensure that workers, and everyone concerned with their protection, have access to the facts they need to prevent occupational injuries and diseases. CIS continuously monitors world literature on occupational safety and health through its contacts with publishers and with 136 focal points ("CIS Centres") at the national or regional level. Summaries and citations of the most useful publications, as well as products based on the collected information, are disseminated electronically and in print. The network of CIS Centers contributes to the exchange of information among persons responsible for establishing and implementing national policies and programs.
ILO CIS
External Link: http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/safework/cis/index.htm
Chest Radiography
A series of guidelines on how to classify chest radiographs for persons with pneumoconioses has been published by the ILO since 1950. The goal of this process was to describe and codify the radiographic abnormalities of the pneumoconioses in a simple, reproducible manner. The most recent edition was revised in 2000 and is described in the 2002 ILO publication, Guidelines for the Use of the ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses (ILO 2002).
NIOSH developed a B-Reader program in 1974 to identify physicians qualified to serve in national pneumoconiosis programs directed at coal miners and others who suffer from dust-related illness. By evaluating the ability of a reader to classify a test set of radiographs, and certifying only those who achieve a certain level of proficiency, the B-Reader Program ensures that physicians who read chest radiographs for evidence of pneumoconiosis using the ILO Classification system are as accurate and precise as possible.
Additional information about radiographic reading and the ILO system, including recommendations or “best practices” for use of the ILO system in different settings can be found on the NIOSH Chest Radiography Topic Page.
