Background and supporting literature and practices

19 May 2010

 | Technical document

Overview

Currently, an estimated two million men and women die each year as a result of occupational accidents and work-related illnesses or injuries. There also are some 268 million non fatal workplace accidents resulting in an average of three lost workdays per casualty, as well as 160 million new cases of work-related illness. Additionally, 8% of the global burden of disease from depression is currently attributed to occupational risks.

This data, collected by the International Labour Organization and the World Health Organization, only reflect the injuries and illnesses that occur in formal, registered workplaces. In many countries, a majority of workers are employed informally in factories and Businesses, where there is no record of their work-related injuries or illnesses, let alone any programmes in place to prevent injuries or illnesses. Addressing this huge burden of disease, economic cost, and longterm loss of human resources from unhealthy workplaces is thus a formidable challenge for countries, economic sectors, and health policymakers and practitioners.

WHO Team

WHO Headquarters (HQ)