Economic and Health Effects of Occupational Hazards in Latin America and the Caribbean

They are especially grateful to Máximo Jéria for his encouragement and support of the initiative that resulted in this paper. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Inter-American Development Bank. Foreword Latin America and the Caribbean are going through a series of major transitions — economic, social, political , demographic, and epidemiological. One area of public health concern clearly touches on them all, namely, occupational health. Until recently, occupational safety and health was relegated to the background, as countries in the region focused on more visible endemic diseases. Yet, occupational illness and injury is now a leading cause of morbidity among adults in the region and cannot continued to be ignored. Addressing occupational safety is extremely complex; it requires dealing with overlapping responsibilities between ministries of labor and health, and between private insurers and social security institutes. It also requires involvement with business associations and unions, international trade negotiators, and environmentalists. Lastly, it requires making decisions with significant distributional and health consequences. This study is the result of a joint effort by the IDB's Region 3 and Sustainable Development Departments which was undertaken to identify the major trends and issues related to improving occupational safety in Latin America and the Caribbean. It shows that the region has a very high disease burden in this area, and that economic patterns of employment and public regulatory responses make these health problems more acute than in Europe or North America. The paper was discussed at an IDB conference entitled "International Conference on Occupational Safety and Health" in June 2000, and served to draw attention to these important issues. The study provides a firm grounding from which to address the dearth of policies in occupational safety, and it will help guide future IDB activities in this sector. It represents one modest step along the way to a future of safer working conditions and better health in the region.