The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on health workers and has demonstrated dangerous neglect of their health, safety and wellbeing, warned the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a new report on Tuesday.

The report stated that even before the pandemic more than one-in-three health facilities lack hygiene, while fewer than one-in-six countries had in place a national policy on a healthy and safe working environment in the health sector.

Health workers have suffered from infections, musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, workplace violence and harassment, burnout, and allergies from the poor working environment.

And Covid exposed “systemic lack of safeguard killing about 115,500 health workers in the first 18 months of the pandemic, it noted.

“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the health sector was among the most hazardous sectors to work in,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO.

“Sickness, absence and exhaustion exacerbated pre-existing shortages of health workers and undermined the capacities of health systems to respond to the increased demand for care and prevention during the crisis,” added said James Campbell, Director, WHO Health Workforce Department.

In the report, the UN health and labour agencies made a joint call for action and implementing stronger occupational health and safety programmes for health workers, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to exert great pressure on them.

Such programmes should cover all occupational hazards — infectious, ergonomic, physical, chemical, and psycho-social.

The new guidelines also outline the roles that governments, employers, workers and occupational health services should play in promoting and protecting the health, safety, and wellbeing of health workers. It emphasises that continuous investment, training, monitoring and collaboration are essential for sustaining progress in implementing the programmes.

“Health workers, like all other workers, should enjoy their right to decent work, safe and healthy working environments and social protection for healthcare, sickness absence and occupational diseases and injuries,” said Alette van Leur, Director, ILO Sectoral Policies Department.

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