"International work": Climate change creates a combination of health risks for more than 70% of the world’s workers
Geneva, April 22 / WAM / A report issued by the International Labor Office, today, Monday in Geneva, entitled “Ensuring Safety and Health at Work in a Changing Climate,” warned of the health risks that may affect more than 70% of the world’s workers due to climate change.
These health consequences can include cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, kidney dysfunction and mental health conditions, the report said.
The report stated that, based on the figures available for the year 2020, more than 2.4 billion workers (out of a global workforce of 3.4 billion) are likely to be exposed to excessive heat at some point during their work, indicating an increase in the percentage from 65.5% to 70.9% since the year 2020.
The report estimated that up to 19,000 people and 2.09 million work-years – by disability – are lost annually due to 22.85 million occupational injuries related to excessive heat, in addition to approximately 26.2 million people worldwide who live with associated chronic kidney disease. Heat stress in the workplace.
The International Labor Office report states that the issue goes beyond exposure to heat, as many health conditions among workers are linked to climate change, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, kidney impairment, and mental health conditions, as a result of exposure to up to 1.6 One billion UV workers with approximately 19,000 work-related deaths annually due to skin cancer.
The report says: More than 870 million agricultural workers are likely to be exposed to pesticides, with more than 300,000 deaths attributed to pesticide poisoning annually, while the number of work-related deaths due to exposure to parasitic diseases and vectors reaches about 15,000 cases annually.
Manal Qazi, head of the Occupational Health and Safety Team at the International Labor Office, said that it is clear that climate change is already creating significant additional health risks for workers, stressing that it is necessary for countries to respond to these warnings and for occupational safety and health considerations to become part of their responses to climate change, whether in policies. Or procedures that provide safe and healthy environments for workers in the workplace.
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