A special day for safety and health of workers

As we observe World Day for Safety and Health at Work on Friday, latest International Labour Organization estimates show that 1.4 million work-related deaths occur annually in Asia and the Pacific out of the 2.3 million worldwide. This means the region accounted for 70 percent of the global fatal occupational accidents and 60 percent of the work-related fatal diseases.

Most work-related deaths and non-fatal accidents occur in low - and middle-income countries of the region. However, in reality, the situation in the Asia-Pacific region could be even worse as the problem can only be estimated due to the lack of data.

Challenges in collecting occupational safety and health data that is accurate, comparable and timely hinder the analysis of scope, nature, causes and impact of occupational accidents and disease. Official reporting requirements are based on multiple criteria which change over time and do not cover all categories of workers (such as self-employed and informal workers).