Monday, Feb. 8, 2021: The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an array of social and economic challenges that have had an unprecedented impact on public health, food systems, and the world of work. To shed some light on the actions the International Labour Organization (ILO) are taking to assist countries with their occupational health and safety measures, Dr. Manal Azzi recently spoke to our 4th year Canadian University Dubai (CUD) Environmental Health Management (EHM) students about the role of ILO in Occupational Health and Safety worldwide.
Dr. Manal Azzi is a Senior Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Specialist at the ILO based in Geneva, Switzerland. In her 16 years with the organization, she has had the opportunity to supervise interventions around the world. Dr. Azzi currently manages the branch’s work on chemical safety and the environment and leads ILO's activities on health promotion in the workplace including improved wellbeing, nutrition, and the prevention of stress, psychosocial risks, violence, and substance abuse in the world of work. She also coordinates the world day for safety and health at work, which focuses on 2020 and 2021 and ensuring safety and health at work during the COVID-19 pandemic. At present, she manages a global project to improve OSH in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. She also works on advancing OSH management systems and ILO Conventions 155 and 187 among others, to develop policies and programs and strengthen national systems on OSH in numerous countries.
Dr. Azzi holds a Ph.D. in OSH (Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences-University of Surrey, UK), a masters in labour law, LLM (University of Leicester), a masters in nutrition, and a BSc in environmental and public health sciences (American University of Beirut), and a degree in biochemistry, human physiology, and health education (University of Sydney).
CUD’s Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health Management program introduces students to different entities both locally and globally that deal with the environment, health, food security, occupational health and safety, entrepreneurship in environment and health among other subjects. Dr. Azzi’s lecture provided our students with valuable insight into the ILO and how the organization is ensuring all occupational health and safety measures are being integrated into the workplace for employees in various countries around the world.
To learn more about our Environmental Health Management program at CUD, please visit our website .