Safety campaign awards on the cards
By Confidente Reporter
ORGANISERS of the African Safety Awards for Excellence (AfriSAFE) have announced plans to kick off a safety and health campaign tagged ‘I Am Safety’ after opening up the nomination process for the third edition recently.
Rear Admiral S. A. Olukoya (rtd), chairman of AfriSAFE board of governors, said the goal of the campaign is to reach 100 million Africans with an effective safety awareness message.
“According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 2.3 million workers die every year from work-related injuries and diseases. An additional 160 million workers suffer from non-fatal work-related diseases and 130 million from non-fatal injuries per year.
“Work-related deaths, injuries and diseases take a particular heavy toll in developing nations like in Africa and have economic consequences on companies and economies. The ‘I am Safety’ campaign is orchestrated to address these safety threats of the perilous time we are in.
“We are hopeful that the campaign will influence our audience to recognise the benefit of staying safe and keeping our environment safe,” Olukoya said.
Announcing nominations via www.
afrisafe.org, AfriSAFE Country Representative in Namibia, Roswitha Malongi said the 2021 award is dedicated to celebrating the super humans of our everyday life – people dedicated to making our world safer and better.
Malongi explained that there are different award categories including, AfriSAFE Young Innovator award that attracts lots of cash but for people under the age of 23, AfriSAFE chief executive officer (CEO) Award, AfriSAFE Merit Award, AfriSAFE Health and Safety Team of the year award, among others.
“AfriSAFE is passionate about raising awareness on the importance of safety and health in workplaces and our communities at large. Hence, the award is dedicated to celebrating only distinguished entities working assiduously to promote health and safety across board. I encourage all health and safety practitioners in Namibia to participate in ‘I Am Safety’ campaign and AfriSAFE 2021 as we strive to make our continent safer and better,” Malongi said.
About AfriSAFE
Africa Safety Award for Excellence (AfriSAFE) is a leading global brand for the recognition and celebration of excellence in Health, Safety, and Well-being on the continent of Africa.
Over the past 22 months, AfriSAFE has recognised hundreds of people from thousands of nominations across 12 African countries.
In 2020, despite the pandemic, it held a virtual award event with thousands in attendance across various social media platforms.
AfriSAFE 2021 is sponsored by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), the world’s largest chartered membership body for Safety and Health professionals; Hybrid Group, Combined Training Solutions, Eximia Realty and Joint Professional Training and Support ( JPTS).