Online Reporter
Tendai Gukutikwa
Health Reporter
ZIMBABWE must urgently modernise its occupational safety and health (OSH) systems to address growing workplace hazards and protect workers in high-risk sectors, an occupational health expert has warned.
Speaking during the Zimbabwe Occupational Health Nurses Association’s 46th annual general conference in Mutare this morning, Dr Shing Mugaviri said OSH was a fundamental human right and a key pillar under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2).
Dr Mugaviri also said the nation continues to face challenges including limited occupational health infrastructure, shortages of trained occupational health professionals and a lack of protection for workers in the informal sector.
She identified dust and chemical exposure, workplace accidents, heat stress, fatigue, machinery injuries and noise-induced hearing loss among the major occupational hazards affecting workers.
Dr Mugavari also called for stronger occupational safety laws, investment in workplace health surveillance systems and the adoption of digital technologies such as wearable health-monitoring devices and artificial intelligence-powered hazard detection systems.
She said employers must prioritise employee wellbeing and preventive health programmes to achieve safer and more productive workplaces.
The conference is being held under the theme, ‘Integrating Innovation and Humanity: Transforming Occupational Health for a Resilient and Equitable Workforce in Zimbabwe’.
Zimbabwe Occupational Health Nurses Association (ZOHNA) vice-president, Mrs Yolande Mpofu said this year’s conference theme emphasised the need to place people at the centre of occupational health practice despite rapid technological advancements reshaping workplaces across the world.
