Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
International Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development (IJSESD)
Publisher
IGI Global
Place of Publication
United States
School
School of Medical and Health Sciences
RAS ID
26823
Abstract
Record-breaking summer heat events are increasing in frequency in Zimbabwe and 2016 was a particularly hot year with the country experiencing its worst heat wave event in decades. Currently, Zimbabwe has no coordinated public health response to deal with heat wave events and no specific data on heat-related morbidity and mortality. The country has no legislation for protecting workers against environmental heat exposure, particularly those most vulnerable who are employed in the informal sector. These workers are also at risk due to their outdoor work environments. The article outlines the state of climate and heat stresses in Zimbabwe, as benchmarked against other African countries and France. It further summarizes outdoor workers' susceptibility to heat exposure and the need for the Zimbabwean Government to develop policies to ensure the health and safety of an increasing population of outdoor workers in Zimbabwe.
DOI
10.4018/IJSESD.2018010101
Comments
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of: Ngwenya, B., Oosthuizen, J., Cross, M., Frimpong, K., & Chaibva, C. N. (2018). A Review of Heat Stress Policies in the Context of Climate Change and Its Impacts on Outdoor Workers: Evidence From Zimbabwe. International Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development (IJSESD), 9(1), 1-11. Available here.