Healthcare Workers

The Vision Zero Fund is a G7-launched, G20-endorsed multi-donor trust fund administered by ILO to prevent work-related deaths, injuries, and diseases in global supply chains. In its first 5 years, the program improved health and safety for 5.6 million workers across garment, agriculture, coffee, and construction sectors in countries including Ethiopia, Madagascar, Vietnam, Myanmar, Colombia, Indonesia, and Uganda. Achievements include: Vietnam - 18,000+ farmers received OSH training; Myanmar - 198,000 garment workers gained enhanced employment injury insurance, 1,500 ginger farmers trained; Indonesia - 1.7 million coffee workers benefited from OSH improvements; Ethiopia - updated occupational disease list and National OSH Directive; Madagascar - ratified ILO Conventions 155, 161, 187.

The annual World Day for Safety and Health at Work (April 28) is ILO's primary awareness campaign for workplace safety, coinciding with Workers' Memorial Day. The campaign promotes a "culture of prevention" across governments, employers, and workers through tripartite social dialogue. Each year focuses on emerging risks: 2025 explored AI and digitalization impacts on OSH (opportunities like hazard-detecting robots, risks like work intensification); previous years addressed violence/harassment prevention. The campaign supports ILO Conventions 155 (OSH) and 187 (Promotional Framework for OSH). Key messages: 2.93 million workers die annually from work-related factors; 395 million sustain non-fatal injuries. Safe work is a fundamental principle and right at work since 2022 ILC decision.

The Solidarity Center is a US-based organization partnering with workers in 60+ countries to advance labor rights through training, legal support, and capacity building. Programs focus on worker rights, union skills, workplace safety, and combating forced labor. In Bangladesh, garment workers secured 9% wage increases and safe drinking water. In Georgia, workers won over $12 million through court decisions after safety training. In Sri Lanka, 350 domestic workers joined unions and developed model employment contracts. In Mexico, independent unions secured up to 30% wage increases. Programs train workers as job safety experts and advocate for international labor standards.

Better Work, a joint initiative of ILO and International Finance Corporation (IFC), improves working conditions and competitiveness in the global garment industry through factory assessments, advisory services, and training. Operating in 11 countries across 3 continents, the program has impacted 3.7 million workers in 2,250+ factories. Key results include 26% reduction in overtime (Vietnam: 90%→50% excessive overtime), 17% reduction in gender pay gap (Nicaragua), 18% reduction in sexual harassment (Jordan), 26% increase in women's prenatal care access, and 25% increase in factory profitability. The Supervisory Skills Training led to 22% productivity increase on lines managed by trained female supervisors. The Better Work Academy scales training through "Train the Trainer" and e-learning.

The World Health Organization Initiative on E-Waste and Child Health supports pilot projects in Latin America and Africa to protect children's health from hazardous exposures in informal e-waste recycling. The initiative raises awareness about health effects of e-waste on children and pregnant women, who are particularly vulnerable to toxic substances like lead, mercury, and cadmium released during informal recycling practices such as open burning and acid leaching. The program works to build capacity for policymakers to enforce legislation, promote safe disposal practices, and develop healthcare protocols for treating e-waste-related health conditions in affected communities.

The Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Programme combines classroom training with in-factory consulting to improve productivity and working conditions in SMEs. Since 2009, SCORE has trained 4,800+ SMEs across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, benefiting 888,000+ workers. Modules cover Workplace Cooperation, Quality Improvement, Resource Efficiency, OSH, Lean Manufacturing, and Gender Equality. Results include: 50% productivity improvements, 64% reduction in defective products, 48% reduction in waste, 29% reduction in work-related accidents, 22% reduction in absenteeism, 91% enterprise satisfaction rate. Partnerships with Inditex, Adidas, and Ethical Trading Initiative integrate SCORE into supplier development.

The largest public health initiative in history, GPEI uses comprehensive communication strategies including community mobilization, interpersonal communication through health workers, and mass media to achieve polio vaccination coverage. The initiative has reduced polio cases by 99.9% since 1988 through sustained behavior change communication.

A multi-country initiative to improve infant and young child feeding practices through strategic behavior change communication. Uses mass media, community-based counseling, and policy advocacy to promote exclusive breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding in Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and other countries.

A comprehensive online resource and community of practice for social and behavior change practitioners. Provides evidence-based tools, how-to guides, and resources for designing effective SBC programs across health, environment, and development sectors. Managed by USAID's Breakthrough ACTION project.

Egypt's national campaign to eliminate Hepatitis C, one of the world's most successful mass screening and treatment programs. Combined mass media awareness with community screening drives, treating over 4 million people. Used behavior change communication to reduce stigma and encourage testing.

Jhpiego works with Egypt's Ministry of Health to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes through health worker training, community mobilization, and behavior change communication. Focuses on antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, and essential newborn care practices in Upper Egypt governorates.

Better Work is a flagship partnership between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) improving working conditions and labor rights in the global garment industry. Operating in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Jordan, Nicaragua, and Vietnam, the program combines factory assessments, advisory services, and worker-manager training to improve compliance with ILO core labor standards. Independent impact assessments show increased factory productivity, reduced sexual harassment, increased women's access to prenatal care, decreased gender pay gaps, and workers reporting fairer hours, improved pay, and stronger workplace communication.

Khushi Baby is an Indian nonprofit leveraging AI and digital health platforms to improve maternal and child health outcomes, particularly immunization tracking in rural India. Its Community Health Integrated Platform (CHIP) provides mobile apps for 70,000+ community health workers (ASHAs/ANMs) and AI-powered dashboards for health officials. The platform tracks 800+ health indicators, identifies zero-dose children, and uses geospatial intelligence to map health inequities. Mothers in intervention areas are 1.66 times more likely to have fully immunized infants. The platform has tracked 45+ million beneficiaries across Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.

Praekelt.org's Turn.io platform powering government WhatsApp health helplines across Africa reaching 40+ million users. During COVID-19, South Africa's 'MomConnect' and 'HealthAlert' services provided automated symptom screening, vaccine information, and mental health support via WhatsApp chatbots. The platform uses conversational AI to provide 24/7 health information in local languages, with human escalation for complex queries. Extended beyond COVID to maternal health, HIV prevention, and general health information services across multiple African countries.

This initiative used human-centered design (HCD) to adapt and co-design a multifaceted implementation strategy for integrating HIV and non-communicable disease (NCD) services in Lusaka, Zambia. The approach involved healthcare workers in the design process to ensure the strategy's appropriateness, feasibility, and adoption in local healthcare settings.