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International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers

Washington, April 27, 2001 (PAHO) - Advocates for health and safety in the workplace from some 100 countries are marking April 28 as "International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers" with a series of worldwide activities to commemorate the lives and protest the unnecessary suffering and deaths of victims of occupational abuse and neglect.

Decades of scientific research and social and political change have resulted in significant improvements in working conditions, according to Pan American Health Organization experts, but there is still a long way to go.

More than 1.3 million workers worldwide die each year from work-related accidents and injuries. This amounts to an average of 3,300 per day, which represents nearly twice the deaths caused by war, and more than those caused by malaria.

"Today, we have the means and the knowledge to reduce workers' ill health, which is one of the most salient public health issues of our time, though it receives disproportionately less attention and resources than the evidence would otherwise suggest. The health impact and economic burden on developed as well as developing countries clearly show that occupational diseases and injuries are important barriers to development, and they are often associated with environmental degradation, human rights violations, and social exclusion," said Dr. Maritza Tennassee, PAHO's Regional Advisor in Workers' Health.

The Pan American Health Organization has been working with national and international agencies, non-governmental and community-based organizations, and representatives of workers and the private sector to develop a comprehensive framework for effective policies and actions aimed at curbing occupational mortality and morbidity. This framework, known as the Regional Plan on Workers' Health, was approved by Ministers of Health from the Americas at the PAHO Directing Council in September 1999.

"On this important date, let us pledge together with our Member States to pursue a responsive labor policy and to work towards a day when no worker will be left behind with regard to his/her health and well-being. Workers are the cornerstone of societies, a key engine of growth, and a precious resource for the future. When they become victims of debilitating illnesses or premature death, families fall apart, communities are weakened, social cohesion is undermined and so is economic growth," said Dr. Tennassee.

"We believe that workers' health should be front and center in any agenda that concerns itself with realizing human potential, reducing poverty, and engendering a sustainable human development. Allowing workers to create prosperity for themselves, their families and their societies is a moral imperative and a responsibility that must be shared by all of us: policy makers, professionals, scientists, academicians, unionists, employers, and workers," she added.

The Pan American Health Organization, founded in 1902, works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and raise the living standards of their peoples.