20 March 2022 - A three-day workshop was held in February 2022 by CEHA and the WHO Oman country office, in collaboration with the Environment Authority and Ministry of Health, to develop a sound chemicals management road map for Oman.

In 2017, the 70th World Health Assembly approved a road map to enhance health sector engagement in the Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) towards the 2020 goal and beyond. The WHO chemicals road map identifies concrete actions where the health sector has either a lead or important supporting role to play in the sound management of chemicals, recognizing the need for multisectoral and multi-stakeholder cooperation. These actions are organized into four areas: risk reduction; knowledge and evidence; institutional capacity; and leadership and coordination.

Moreover, the Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) toolbox was updated in 2021 to provide easier and more direct access to eight management schemes, including the WHO chemicals road map, five toolkits and more than 500 IOMC tools, guidance documents and training materials.

The main purpose of the workshop was to draw a national road map for the sound management of chemicals towards the 2020 goal and beyond and to enhance health sector engagement in the Strategic Approach using the available WHO tools. The workshop included a mixture of technical presentations, discussion sessions and group work guided by CEHA experts.

Around 45 chemicals and health experts from the Ministry of Health, Environment Authority, Food Safety and Quality Center, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Protection Authority, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Oil and Gas, Fishers & Water Resources, Oman Environmental Service Holding Company S.A.O.C (be’ah), Sultan Qaboos University, and other relevant sectors attended the workshop, either virtually or in-person. Furthermore, several global and regional experts from WHO headquarters, CEHA, FAO, OECD and UNITAR contributed to the workshop.

during the workshop, participants identified current gaps and challenges related to chemicals management, identified and prioritized potential actions for the road map related to the four areas in the national context, proposed several activities to move forward the 2020 goal and beyond and draft a plan of action for its implementation.

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Related link

WHO chemicals road map

Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM)

Interorganization Program for Sound Management of Chemicals (IOMC) toolbox