Health of expatriate workers in Qatar: A priority

The size of the labor force in economically vibrant Qatar is fast growing to meet the demands. Stressing that the health of the workers is an essential prerequisite for productivity and economic development of Qatar, occupational health programs are a priority.  Of all the workers, 400,000 (i.e., 28%of Qatar’s population) live in worker’s accommodation as single male occupants. About half of these work for the Oil and Gas Product (OGP) industries and the rest half for the Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SME). The SME workers, unlike OGP workers, have very limited access to any health care. This has caused these workers to go to ER department of Public Hospitals thereby increasing the work load/burden of the staff in the ER dept. Analysis of recent data shows that accidental falls (24%) and suicide (12%) are the two most common external causes of mortality (excluding transport accidents) amongst male expatriate workers in Qatar. Mortality of the workers from other causes, especially heat strokes, will be presented and measures to reduce these mortalities will be highlighted.

Specific programs for the health and safety of workers, health promotion and mental health will be discussed, highlighting the challenges Qatar is facing. The Ministry of Health is committed to handle the current challenge with vigor and resources. The occupational section of the department of public health, albeit small in manpower, has been working in close collaboration with the key stake holders in taking up the issues seriously. Collaborating with different agencies, industries, educational institutions and Government bodies is proving to be very fruitful in implementing safety and health of all workers in Qatar. The role of different agencies and their collaborative efforts will be presented to understand the effectiveness of working jointly with organizations who believe in simple ideology “healthy workers are more productive”.