90 percent of Pinoys at risk of acquiring fatal diseases – ILO

MANILA, Philippines – The International Labor Organization (ILO) said about 90 percent of Filipinos are at risk of acquiring heart diseases, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and kidney ailments. These are among the ten leading causes of death among Filipinos.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz also noted that the number of HIV and AIDS cases in the Philippines is rising, with 380 new cases recorded in January. This is 79 percent higher than the number of cases during the same period last year.

Baldoz said “the culprit behind the high incidence of AIDS and other deadly diseases among workers is unhealthy lifestyle.”

With the growing number of workers afflicted with fatal diseases, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is promoting a behavioral change training course encouraging employees to adopt healthy lifestyles.

The CHANGE module contains behavior change communication strategies that encourage managers and workers to create office-based interventions to promote healthy lifestyles among employees.

It includes tools for instituting and measuring workplace improvements on workers’ attitudes on smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases, nasal and lung ailments, good nutrition and breastfeeding.

Baldoz said the DOLE wants more workers to benefit from the module so the department has integrated the module in the online Basic Occupational Safety and Health (e-BOSH) training.

e-BOSh is the online version of the 40-hour Basic Safety and Health Training Course mandatory for all safety officers. Learners who finish the course within the maximum period of three months receive a certificate of completion.

The CHANGE module was jointly developed by the Occupational Safety and Health Center, Department of Health, ILO, Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines, and Business Processing Association of the Philippines. It was initially intended for the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

“After the CHANGE module was piloted in several BPO companies, we saw that it could also be effective for workers in other industries. Every employee is, after all, exposed to the health risks of an unhealthy lifestyle,” Baldoz said.

With the CHANGE module, the DOLE chief expressed hope that the high incidence of deadly diseases among workers can be reversed.

“We can’t afford to lose workers to diseases which can be prevented,” she added.