Every day, more than 860,000 people around the world are injured at work, many due to a simple but deadly gap: the lack of awareness about occupational safety, health and environmental protection—commonly referred to as OSHE.
In Kampala, the situation is no better. A recent study revealed that 32.4 per cent of construction workers in the capital have sustained occupational injuries, 70 per cent of which occurred during night shifts.
These alarming figures were brought to light during a high-level training workshop hosted at Makerere University’s school of Engineering, where educators from Makerere, Kyambogo, and Busitema universities gathered to discuss how to bridge the knowledge gap between academia and the public, the “wananchi”—on OSHE.
The consensus was clear: Uganda must embed OSHE education into the national curriculum, starting from primary school.
Ugandan coffee exports
“If institutions of learning could adopt OSHE into their curriculum from lower primary education, it wouldn’t be a challenge at our workplaces,” said Jeffy Briton Ssemuddu, an OSHE specialist and keynote speaker at the workshop. Ssemuddu emphasized that many of Uganda’s workplace tragedies—and even broader societal risks—stem from the lack of safety knowledge.
From fatal school fires to rising traffic accidents, he says, the thread connecting many of these incidents is lack of training in risk awareness and prevention.
“When you critically analyze most causes of death in Uganda, they result from a lack of prior knowledge of OSHE,” Ssemuddu said.
Ugandan coffee exports
“Look at boda boda risks, school violence, wetland encroachments, road accidents, and the spread of diseases due to poor working conditions. All of these trace back to safety ignorance.”
