The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), a chartered body for safety and health is organising a conference in September that focuses on how safety and health at work will benefit workers, businesses and the economies of West Africa.

The two-day online conference, which is free to join, takes place on September 16-17.

The conference will discuss and debate key issues that face the business community regionally and globally and how the application of good safety and health principles at work will bring sustainable competitive advantage.

The title of the event, “A brighter, safer future – for workers, for businesses, for West Africa” highlights the benefits that workplace safety and health can create for individuals, communities and society.

Participants will be able to take part in debates and listen to keynote presentations and panel discussions involving, among many others, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Global Compact, the Lagos State Safety Commission, the Ghana Health Service and the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria.

Topics to be discussed include; health and safety in the healthcare sector, health and safety in educational settings, the impact on different industries of the forthcoming occupational safety and health bill in Ghana and the leadership role of women in the occupational safety and health profession.

The full programme and registration details are available at www.iosh.com/wac

It follows a hugely successful event last year, attended by over 900 representatives of government departments, non-governmental organisations, businesses, industry and academia. Within months, IOSH inaugurated its West Africa Division, whose members include safety and health professionals working in Ghana, Nigeria and West African countries. It is IOSH’s first network on the continent of Africa and is continuing to attract new members and the possibility of potential collaborations with other institutions based in the region.

The conference will demonstrate the increasingly critical role of occupational safety and health professionals in business planning for all kinds of organisation, whether they are in the private, public or voluntary sector, no matter what their size, from micro-organisation to multinational. In particular, they have a central role to play in recovering economically from the Covid-19 pandemic. This recovery is not merely tactical and operational but an imperative for long-term sustainability.

One key message of the conference will be that the protection of workers must be an essential part of business planning if organisations are to survive and prosper in the future. Governments, businesses and organisations will be urged to plan with this consideration in mind.