Editorial: Prioritise workplace health and safety

Businesses, regulators and health and safety practitioners must go beyond physical safety and pay more attention to workers’ mental wellbeing and overall safety.

The President-Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality Professionals Association of Ghana (SHEQ-PA), Akua Agyeiwaa Brentuo Amoo, made this call during the World Health and Safety Conference 2026 in Accra.

She called for stronger workplace health and safety regulations, urging authorities to address mental health and psychosocial risks facing employees.

The 2-day conference was held in partnership with the Ghana Chamber of Mines and Inspectorate Division of Minerals Commission. The conference is upholding tenets of the International Labour Organisation which places emphasis on mental health and psychosocial wellbeing at work.

Ahmed Dasana Nantogmah, Chief Operating Officer-Ghana Chamber of Mines, stressed that employee wellbeing is critical to productivity and profitability in the mining sector.

He urged mining firms to continue investing in employee training, capacity building and health and safety programmes to ensure they are equipped to work safely and efficiently.

Health and safety remain critical concerns in the mining sector due to the industry’s high-risk naturen – especially as mine accidents can result in fatalities, injuries and equipment damage, leading companies to spend heavily on safety systems.

Occupational health and safety (OHS) is a practice that deals with the safety, health, welfare and wellbeing of people when they are at work. Providing a safe working environment for staff is a legal responsibility.

OHS must also ensure people with disabilities or impairments are not unreasonably prevented from taking job opportunities and that work processes are adapted to help people with specific conditions work safely.

The range of occupational health risks is varied across industries. Mining remains one of the most hazardous employment sectors, despite the considerable efforts in many countries to implement and maintain occupational safety and health. The toll of death, injury and disease remains high among the world’s mine workers.

Over and above accidents, many of the adverse health effects associated with mining and the extractive industries are caused by inhalation of airborne pollutants which are not controlled at source.

Generally, it is estimated that working conditions in informal mining are worse than those in the formal mining sector.

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