The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted on the health and wellbeing of populations directly through infection, as well as through serious societal and economic consequences such as unemployment and underemployment. The consequences could be even more severe for those more vulnerable to the disease, such as the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. Indeed, there is evidence that such vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected in terms of both, their health and the socioeconomic impact. The aim of our study was to determine whether occupational health (OH) professionals thought that the COVID-19 pandemic might further disadvantage any particular group(s) of vulnerable workers globally, and if so, which group(s). A cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of OH professionals by means of an online questionnaire which was shared via email within the ICOH (International Commission for Occupational Health) community. Data was collected over a period of two weeks in May 2020 and 165 responses from 52 countries were received. In this paper, the responses relating to questions about vulnerable workers are reported and discussed. Globally, our responders felt that those in less secure jobs (precarious employment (79%) and informal work (69%)), or unemployed (63%), were the most at risk of further disadvantage from this pandemic. The majority felt that their governments could act to mitigate these effects. There were suggestions of short-term alleviation such as financial and social support, as well as calls for fundamental reviews of the underlying inequalities that leave populations so vulnerable to a crisis such as COVID-19.

standards. In contrast, in the informal economy there are diverse and atypical places of work (for example street vendors in public places, industrial outworkers in their own homes or in small informal factories), status in employment (self-employed versus wage workers). These and other differences present profound challenges to the formal profession and practice of OHS. A five year, seven country study sought to understand the growing gap between what OHS conventionally provides, and what informal workers need or find useful for the improvement of their working conditions and well-being. Methods WIEGO and its affiliates in Brazil, Ghana, India, Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, and Thailand focused on two occupational sectors in each country, selected from street vendors, headload porters, domestic workers, waste pickers, and home-based workers. Country situation analyses of the informal economy, and the provision of OHS, were followed by extensive engagement in participatory research with informal workers. Bridging platforms were used where specific OHS issues could be discussed by informal workers and authorities together. Discussion We worked in collaboration with contacts inside and outside of government departments, member-based organisations, NGOs, trade unions and others. In-country researchers and organisations explored inter alia the reform of local market regulations to control the weights carried by men porters, the installation of first aid stands in built markets, improved access for women head porters to a national health insurance scheme, child care provision, skill upgrading for better incomes, and the development of improved work equipment. The paper concludes with a consideration of what role an influential organisation such as ICOH could play in promoting an OHS that could include categories of informal employment. Introduction The paper will discuss a community financing based wellness model, piloted amongst drivers in Lagos State. The model builds on the hub and spoke investment model and utilises 'susu' a traditional micro-finance mechanism as an entry point. The model integrates protection from workrelated safety and health hazards with promotion of injury and illness prevention efforts to advance worker well-being. 580Based on a needs assessment, the primary initiative was to establish a wellness intervention targeting a cross section of drivers involved in organised and unorganised micro and small enterprises in Lagos State. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted on the first cohort (45) of 3 based on a convenience sample. A selfadministered, close-ended questionnaire recorded the participant's personal characteristics, health status, and health interests. Blood pressure and blood sugar levels were taken by trained volunteers. A repeat evaluation after the 6 month deployment of the program is planned. Key informant interviews and a satisfaction survey is planned.Results Preliminary baseline results amongst others indicate that a significant percentage of the drivers smoked cigarette...

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Women of advanced reproductive age (ARA) constitute a growing proportion globally, as more women delay entry into motherhood, in a bid to accommodate their educational and career goals. Social, economic and technological realities propel women to postpone childbearing to a later and more convenient age. What are the maternal outcomes of such delays? This paper reviewed studies that have examined the association between advanced reproductive age and maternal health outcomes. It also attempts to develop a conceptual framework regarding relationship between ARA and maternal outcomes. The Google Scholar search engine was used to search for published studies on the subject in the last ten years. A total of 40 studies were sampled, of which the majority were retrospective studies, using secondary data, in particular health institutes reports. Only 17% of the studies was conducted in Nigeria, and none by social scientists. Ninety percent (90%) of the studies reviewed, established that advanced reproductive age predisposes women to adverse reproductive events. Some of the maternal, and per-natal outcomes include; spontaneous abortion, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, antepartum hemorrhage, postpartum hemorrhage, intrauterine growth restriction, obstructed labour, caesarean delivery, placenta abruption and, congenital abnormalities. Others are, – low birth weight, fetal distress, mal-presentation, perinatal lacerations, preterm births, stillbirth, early neonatal death, perinatal and maternal mortality. The study recommends the needs for sociological studies to compliment the discourse on ARA and the maternal health outcomes from the social angle.

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