A Review of Heat Stress Policies in the Context of Climate Change and Its Impacts on Outdoor Workers

2022 ◽  
pp. 1710-1722
Author(s):  
Bigboy Ngwenya ◽  
Jacques Oosthuizen ◽  
Martyn Cross ◽  
Kwasi Frimpong ◽  
Cynthia Nombulelo Chaibva
Keyword(s):  
Heat Wave ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Outdoor Workers ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Outdoor Work ◽  
Wave Event

Record-breaking summer heat events are increasing in frequency in Zimbabwe and 2016 was a particularly hot year with the country experiencing its worst heat wave event in decades. Currently, Zimbabwe has no coordinated public health response to deal with heat wave events and no specific data on heat-related morbidity and mortality. The country has no legislation for protecting workers against environmental heat exposure, particularly those most vulnerable who are employed in the informal sector. These workers are also at risk due to their outdoor work environments. The article outlines the state of climate and heat stresses in Zimbabwe, as benchmarked against other African countries and France. It further summarizes outdoor workers' susceptibility to heat exposure and the need for the Zimbabwean Government to develop policies to ensure the health and safety of an increasing population of outdoor workers in Zimbabwe.

A Review of Heat Stress Policies in the Context of Climate Change and Its Impacts on Outdoor Workers

2022 ◽  
pp. 2055-2067
Author(s):  
Bigboy Ngwenya ◽  
Jacques Oosthuizen ◽  
Martyn Cross ◽  
Kwasi Frimpong ◽  
Cynthia Nombulelo Chaibva
Keyword(s):  
Heat Wave ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Work Environments ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Outdoor Workers ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Outdoor Work ◽  
Wave Event

Record-breaking summer heat events are increasing in frequency in Zimbabwe and 2016 was a particularly hot year with the country experiencing its worst heat wave event in decades. Currently, Zimbabwe has no coordinated public health response to deal with heat wave events and no specific data on heat-related morbidity and mortality. The country has no legislation for protecting workers against environmental heat exposure, particularly those most vulnerable who are employed in the informal sector. These workers are also at risk due to their outdoor work environments. The article outlines the state of climate and heat stresses in Zimbabwe, as benchmarked against other African countries and France. It further summarizes outdoor workers' susceptibility to heat exposure and the need for the Zimbabwean Government to develop policies to ensure the health and safety of an increasing population of outdoor workers in Zimbabwe.

A Review of Heat Stress Policies in the Context of Climate Change and Its Impacts on Outdoor Workers

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bigboy Ngwenya ◽  
Jacques Oosthuizen ◽  
Martyn Cross ◽  
Kwasi Frimpong ◽  
Cynthia Nombulelo Chaibva
Keyword(s):  
Heat Wave ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Specific Data ◽  
Outdoor Workers ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Outdoor Work ◽  
Wave Event

Record-breaking summer heat events are increasing in frequency in Zimbabwe and 2016 was a particularly hot year with the country experiencing its worst heat wave event in decades. Currently, Zimbabwe has no coordinated public health response to deal with heat wave events and no specific data on heat-related morbidity and mortality. The country has no legislation for protecting workers against environmental heat exposure, particularly those most vulnerable who are employed in the informal sector. These workers are also at risk due to their outdoor work environments. The article outlines the state of climate and heat stresses in Zimbabwe, as benchmarked against other African countries and France. It further summarizes outdoor workers' susceptibility to heat exposure and the need for the Zimbabwean Government to develop policies to ensure the health and safety of an increasing population of outdoor workers in Zimbabwe.

scholarly journals Impacts of Climate Change on Outdoor Workers and their Safety: Some Research Priorities

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (18) ◽  
pp. 3458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moda ◽  
Filho ◽  
Minhas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Extreme Heat ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Outdoor Workers ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

The literature on the potential impacts of climate change on the health of outdoor workers has received limited attention as a whole, and in sub-Saharan African countries in particular. Yet, substantial numbers of workers are experiencing the health effects of elevated temperature, in combination with changes in precipitation patterns, climate extremes and the effects of air pollution, which have a potential impact on their safety and wellbeing. With increased temperatures within urban settlements and frequent heats waves, there has been a sudden rise in the occurrence of heat-related illness leading to higher levels of mortality, as well as other adverse health impacts. This paper discusses the impacts of extreme heat exposure and health concerns among outdoor workers, and the resultant impacts on their productivity and occupational safety in tropical developing countries with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, where there is a dearth of such studies. Aside from the direct effects caused by extreme heat exposure, other indirect health hazards associated with increasing heat among this group includes exposures to hazardous chemicals and other vector-borne diseases. In addition, reduced work capacity in heat-exposed jobs will continue to rise and hinder economic and social development in such countries. There is an urgent need for further studies around the health and economic impacts of climate change in the workplace, especially in tropical developing countries, which may guide the implementation of the measures needed to address the problem.

Heat-related mortality in the Florentine area (Italy) before and after the exceptional 2003 heat wave in Europe: an improved public health response?

2011 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 801-810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Morabito ◽  
Francesco Profili ◽  
Alfonso Crisci ◽  
Paolo Francesconi ◽  
Gian Franco Gensini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Heat Wave ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Related Mortality

scholarly journals Effects of Heat Stress Exposure and Climate Change on Health and Safety of Outdoor Workers

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 836-847
Author(s):  
Tarek Abokhashabah ◽  
Bassem Jamoussi ◽  
Ahmed Saleh Summan ◽  
Ezz Abdelfattah ◽  
Ijaz Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Outdoor Workers

The studies carried in the world regarding the possible significant influence of climate change on the health and safety of outdoor workers has not been given the due consideration (especially in the least developed and developing countries). Hundreds and thousands of outdoor workers are exposed to elevated temperatures, humid environments and climate extremes in combination with urban air pollution; which is ultimately impacting their safety and well-being. The statistics show that in the past few years, due to the rise in temperature on earth and frequent heat waves within urban settlements, an abrupt increase has been observed in the rate of heat-related health problems. Exposure to extreme heat (exceeding 40 ºC)causes many direct and indirect health hazards, which include vector-borne diseases and exposure to certain harmful chemicals. Currently, the climatic and heat-related effects are decreasing the working capacity of workers and in the future it is projected that the frequency and magnitude of these effects will increase. With the rise in temperature and the occurrence of frequent heat waves in urban areas, the number of health issues due to high (maximum average)temperature has increased rapidly. This article discusses the impacts of heat exposure and climatic change on productivity,health and safety of outdoor workers by summarizing findings from the literature, and eventually recommends control measures for reducing heat exposure at the outdoor work areasand climatic adaptations. In addition, it argues that there is a need for more research about the impacts on health and economic conditions due to heat and climate change in the workplace on global level (especially in developing countries).

scholarly journals COVID-19 and beyond: how lessons and evidence from implementation research can benefit health systems’ response and preparedness for COVID-19 and future epidemics

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e001150
Author(s):  
Nafissatou Diop ◽  
Montasser Kamal ◽  
Marie Renaud ◽  
Sana Naffa
Keyword(s):  
Health Systems ◽  
Implementation Research ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Novel Coronavirus ◽  
The Impact

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic—and based on limited data on the novel coronavirus—it was projected that African countries will be ravaged and the health systems overwhelmed. Fortunately, Africa has so far defied these dire predictions. Many factors account for the less dramatic outcome, in particular the local know-how gained through dealing with previous epidemics, such as Ebola, and the early and coordinated political and public health response, applying a combination of containment and mitigation measures. However, these same measures, exacerbated by existing inequalities, have had negative impacts on vulnerable populations, notably women and children. Furthermore, the observed deterioration of access to and provision of essential health services will likely continue and worsen in countries experiencing future waves of COVID-19 and lacking access to vaccines. The impact of the pandemic on health systems may be one of Africa’s main COVID-19 challenges and women and children its greatest victims. In this article, we argue that just as learning from previous epidemics and coordinated preparation informed Africa’s response to COVID-19, knowledge, innovations and resources from recent implementation research can be leveraged to mitigate the pandemic’s effects and inform recovery efforts. As an example, we present the proven model and multifaceted approach of the Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa Initiative and describe how such a model could be readily applied to building the robust and equitable systems needed to tackle future stresses and shocks, such as epidemics, on health systems while maintaining essential routine services.

scholarly journals Tsunami in south Asia and east Africa: public health response

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Lawrence ◽  
J Jones
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
South Asia ◽  
East Africa ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
East African ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Loss Of Life ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
Health Response

On 26 December 2004, a tsunami struck several Asian and east African countries, resulting in a devastating loss of life and serious damage to basic infrastructures such as housing, water and sewage treatment services, electricity, and health facilities

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