Almost 2 million people die from work-related causes each year. Despite a growing consensus that investment in occupational safety and health (OSH) is key to achieving sustainable development, significant challenges remain to effectively improve workers’ safety and health.

The Government of Japan is at the forefront of efforts to promote OSH as a pillar of sustainable development. The government of Japan is currently funding five projects on OSH across Asia covering seven countries (in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and Sri Lanka).

To foster synergies among the Japanese funded projects and the creation and sharing of knowledge on OSH, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan is funding a project on consolidation and dissemination of OSH knowledge.

Against this background, the project is undertaking the following activities:

• Collecting, consolidating and organizing OSH knowledge to enhance knowledge sharing and synergies among initiatives;
• Analyzing knowledge gaps and developing new training materials and research products;
• Identifying, documenting and disseminating good practices, including the development and implementation of a dissemination plan to facilitate learning and innovation.

The project is implemented under the framework of the ILO Flagship Programme on OSH Safety + Health for All and contributes to the knowledge management of the programme. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan also supports the Labour Administration, Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health (LABADMIN/OSH) Branch of the Governance and Tripartism Department (GOVERNANCE) of the ILO through the provision of a technical expert to support the the Branch in meeting the needs of ILO constituents.