Occupational Health Hazard in Developing Nations

It is imperative to recognize the fact that for the past two to three decades, industrial activities have taken a positive trajectory in several developing nations that aspire to be developed in the few coming decades. However, it must be appreciated that these industrial developments have come at a time when needed but they have been accompanied by several health risks that face workers in almost all developing nations (García-García, Parrón, Requena, Alarcón, Tsatsakis & Hernández, 2016). Existing health problems have intensified and new health hazards have been introduced. Unfortunately, the lack of adequate information regarding occupational health hazards has created major hurdles to the effective prevention of occupational health hazards. Among developing countries that are faced with occupational health challenges include Kenya.

Kenya is one of the countries across the world with several flower farms that export flowers to many countries in Europe and America. Unfortunately, not so much is done to protect those working in the greenhouses as they carry on their duties especially when spraying and harvesting flowers (García-García et al., 2016). The workers are exposed to toxic substances that pose a wide range of health problems that may include skin or eye irritation among. Elsewhere, Kenya has made strides in coming up with manufacturing industries which have continued to pose threats to the lives of many employees (Chacha & Houdmont, 2018). For instance, many employees are exposed to industrial fumes that cause several respiratory complications such as asthma and bronchitis.

There is a need to come up with a strategy that can be leveraged to reduce chemical exposure to acceptable levels. Therefore in this regard, it is important that every employee in the industrial sector and flower farming must be educated on the need to wear protective gears so as to avoid chemicals harmful chemicals coming into contact with the skin, eyes or nose. Equally, the government needs to formulate policies aimed at protecting employees against workplace hazards.

Reference

Chacha, M., & Houdmont, J. (2018). 760 Towards an expert consensus on the development of occupational safety and health in Kenya.García-García, C. R., Parrón, T., Requena, M., Alarcón, R., Tsatsakis, A. M., & Hernández, A. F. (2016). Occupational pesticide exposure and adverse health effects at the clinical, hematological and biochemical level. Life sciences, 145, 274-283.