Avian Influenza and the Pandemic Threat

Source: ILO
Bangkok -- 19 June 2008 First draft of Avian and Human Influenza manuals are completed, and have been circulated to experts to solicit comments. One of the key activities of the Avian Influenza and Workplace project is to develop training materials to promote safer practices at the workplace.

The manuals are a product of several field visits, where good practices of AI
prevention measures in the poultry industries were observed. The research first began when the ILO Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Specialist for East Asia toured neighbouring countries of Vietnam and Cambodia to observe farmers’ techniques. Prevention practices were also examined at the national level during a recently held mission on 11 June by the National Project Team to poultry businesses in Nonthaburi Province. These observations formed the basis of the illustrations and contents of the manuals.

These practices will be incorporated in the existing OSH manuals—Work
Improvement in Neighbourhood Development and Work Improvement in Small Enterprises. The two manuals, one responding to avian influenza and the other to human influenza, are user-friendly and practical, providing a checklist on various prevention measures.

The next step is to test them in the field. In August, the project staff will begin implementing trainings in farms and villages based on this first draft. Improvements and modifications will be made. Once finalized, the manuals will be used to train local trainers in Thailand. The trainers will then train workers, making the intervention sustainable through the multiplier affect. The project plans to reach 150,000 poultry workers in Thailand at both the farm and industrial levels. The ILO team will target the former through small enterprises and the informal sector.

Finally, the scope of the project manuals will not be limited to Thailand. Instead, they will serve as a model, which can be adapted to different country contexts and needs to further promote AHI awareness and prevention. The first country to follow suit will be Indonesia, where ILO has started a similar project targeting the informal economy.