The Government, Employers and Workers in Tanzania mark the Safety and Health Day in Moshi

The Government of Tanzania in collaboration with workers and employers are devoted to improved national systems for reporting, data collection and analysis of occupational accidents and diseases. This is key to reducing incidences of injuries, diseases and deaths in the country.

Speaking during the commemoration of OSH day 2017, The Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office Policy, Parliament, Labour, Employment, Youth and the Disabled, Ms Jenister Mhagama said the importance of collection and use of accurate OSH data, will help in the detection of new hazards, development of preventive measures, as well as implementation of policies and programs as stated in this year’s theme ‘Optimizing the collection and use of OSH data: A contribution to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 8.’

She said “The government through OSHA will ensure collection of OSH data in all sectors for use in various areas including reviewing of policies, planning and research.”

She further urged all employers to establish and strengthening their reporting system on occupational accident and diseases as provided in the OSH Act, No.5, 2003 and called upon OSHA to strengthen the notification and reporting systems and sensitization of workers on the system which is still new to many.

The Minister also insisted that joint efforts are needed to raise awareness about OSH issues and commended all companies and institutions which participated in the various activities organized including – OSH exhibitions, SME training on OSH and VCT@Work Campaign and HIV/AIDS sensitization sessions.

The ILO Director for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, Dr. Mary Kawar stated that there are over 2.3 million women and men who die at work due to occupational injury or disease meaning that one worker dies from a work related accident or disease every 15 seconds.

“…This is not a new phenomenon in Tanzania as we witness quite a number of occupational accidents daily….” She said.

Among the activities undertaken to commemorate this year`s OSH day include:

• Training more than 1200 entrepreneurs on OSH in Arusha, Ruvuma, Morogoro, Dar es Salaam, Geita and Kilimanjaro regions
• One week OSH exhibitions in which 27 different companies and institutions participated
• VCT@Work Campaign and HIV/AIDS sensitization sessions of which more than 2000 workers participated on VCT services

The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work on 28 April since 2003, promotes the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. It is an awareness-raising campaign intended to focus international attention on how promoting and creating a safety and health culture can help reduce the number of work-related deaths and injuries.