A chance meeting at the 2017 NIOSH USE Conference in Denver between Workplace Health Without Borders-US (WHWB-US) former President Dr. Albert Tien and the former Vice-President of Wolaita Sodo University (WSU) Dr. Yesuneh Chernet, DVM has led to signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between our organization and the University. This MOU set out to establish capacity building joint research programs and professional exchanges in Occupational Health & Safety (OHS). WHWB-US has embarked on a five-year project to assist WSU.  The university was established in 2007 and is a non-profit public higher education institution.  WSU has branch campuses in Bodity, Areka, Humbo, Otona, and Tercha. It is officially accredited by the Ministry of Education, Ethiopia and has an enrollment of approximately 35,000 students.

 Several meetings have been held with WSU leadership to formulate our short- and long-term goals and areas of cooperation. Our project leader, Dr. Albert Tien, developed a strategic 5 year plan for the university which include: capacity building programs in the areas of work-related health and safety issues; organizing symposia, conferences and meetings on research issues related to work related health and safety issues promoting interest in reducing occupationally related injuries and diseases among underserved workers, their families, and their communities at large; and seeking possibilities for joint research projects and find ways for their proper implementation. We are very pleased to announce that the project has been awarded a grant by the AIHA International Affairs Committee, Emerging Economy Micro-Grants Program.  We are grateful for this support and looking for additional funding support. Look forward to working with all of you as we move forward with this project.

 The pandemic’s travel and visa restrictions threw a wrench in our original plans to bring the WSU leadership delegation for in person meetings and training at our Ann Arbor, Michigan location.  To maintain the momentum, a series of online virtual presentations and trainings were developed by the WHWB-US team and partner organizations such as AIHA, MiOSHA, OHTA, and the University of Michigan. It is still our hope to host the WSU Leadership delegation, and therefore WHWB-US is seeking further funding to cover the cost for hosting the delegation. 

WHWB-US is a 501(c)(3) public charity whose mission is to ensure that workers and employers have the knowledge and means to prevent work related illness and injury.  Our organization is composed of occupational health professionals and other concerned individuals whose mandate is to share technical skills and training and to provide the financial means to help underserved worker populations, throughout the world, be able to identify and manage occupational  health and safety risks. Our goal is to develop the knowledge and creative capacity in these worker populations to assess and mitigate the risk of occupational hazards in their workplaces and where those hazards may impact their communities at large.  

To contact us, please mail or email to: WHWB-US, 1100 N Main Street Suite 001, Ann Arbor, MI  48104, email: whwbus@whwb-us.org