Review of Occupational Health and Safety Organization in Expanding Economies: The Case of Southern Africa

Abstract

The full adoption and success of OHS systems in Southern Africa remains constrained. Training and education in OHS, especially in occupational medicine, will enhance the development and maturation of occupational health in southern Africa. Capacitating primary health services with basic occupational health knowledge would be invaluable in bridging the current skills deficit. Introducing short courses and foundational tracks in occupational medicine for general medical practitioners would be invaluable.

Determining the Importance of Coaching Methods in Workplace Health and Safety

“…Furthermore, according to the respondents the rate if accidents and mishaps had also decreased since the implementation of the occupational safety and health policies. This finding is again evident from the study made by Moyo et al [40], Ndejjo et al [50] and Siziya et al [60], where the researchers too indicated reduction in occupational hazards and accidents after the implementation of the OSH policies. Again, from the challenges and opportunities of OSH implementation, the most important challenge was financial and lack of resources.…”

“…Furthermore, respondents 3, 9, 11 and 17 also recommended leadership and management of employees also changed which had improved the workplace performance. With respect to the relevance of the responses, Moyo et al [40] and Puplampu et al [7] reported with similar findings. Again, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work [34] and World Health Organization [1] too supported the current findings where, implementation of OSH lowered occupational hazards and risks.…”

“…On the other hand the most popular challenge was financial drawbacks and lack or resources Table 2. This is implicative of the findings from [7,40,59,60].…”

“…Thus, it can be implicated that majority of the respondents had at least basic knowledge on occupational safety and health. This is implicative from the recent studies by [40,56], where they studied on the situation of OSH in African countries. Both the researchers mentioned various challenges faced, but however, it was also concluded that the OSH was prevalent in the case areas of Africa after appropriate coaching and training.…”

“…The policies include mandatory training and tests for the employees, education, and safety measurements in the industries, along with random assessment of the industries on safety issues by the authorities and treatment and prevention techniques of occupational hazards. Furthermore, another study by Moyo et al [40], reviewed the occupational safety and health policies of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Botswana, whereby it was found that lack in human resource capital and expertise in occupational health and safety are causing the authorities to improperly maintain guidelines and policies. However, the authorities has laid down various methods policies and guidelines for the industries to lower the impact of occupational risks and hazards.…”