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HR, Health and Safety
HR, Health and Safety
One of the cardinal responsibility of employers is to ensure the safety and health of their
employees by preventing their exposure to occupational risks, hence the concept of occupational
Safety and Health.
Occupational Safety and Health is concerned with protection, promotion and maintenance of the
highest degree of the general well-being of workers
This specialty of public health mainly looks at protection of the health of workers from diseases
and injuries from hazardous work-related exposures and improvement of the work environment
so that no harm befalls one who is trying to earn a living.
In Uganda, this falls under the purview of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Department in
the Directorate of Labor under the Ministry of Gender, Labor & Social Development, but
operationalized at work places by adoption of occupational safety and Health focal
persons/champions.
According to study done and published by International labor organization (ILO),
approximately 2.3 million deaths result from occupational injuries or diseases while 160 million
people suffer from occupational diseases alone, annually. Together, fatal and non-fatal
occupational injuries result in about 10.5 million Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs); that
is, about 3.5 years of healthy life are lost per 1,000 workers every year globally.
Conclusion
In closing, “Safety in Numbers”, one of the highest-profile publications of the ILO in the area of
Occupational Safety and Health, suggests that 4 per cent of global income is lost due to
occupational injuries and illnesses.
It is important to endeavor to learn more about and adhere to proper workplace practices in our
respective occupations to help us achieve a solid Occupational Safety and Health culture that will
pave way for not just ourselves but the next generations to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Remember, a workplace is meant to be a source of livelihood and not of ill-health.