Having met in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 15-18 November 2016 on the occasion of the “International Training Workshop on the Prevention of Pneumoconioses’’, using the ILO International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses and under the auspices of the ILO/WHO Global Programme for the Elimination of Silicosis, jointly organized by the International Labour Office (ILO) and the National Institute for Occupational (NIOH) in South Africa, with the participation of international experts and senior health professionals from South Africa and countries in southern Africa, with the support of government departments, employer organisations and trade unions, recognizing the high prevalence of and the enormous economic and social burden imposed by pneumoconioses on workers and their families in southern Africa, that improving safety and health at work has a major positive impact on decent work, working conditions, productivity, economic and social development, recognizing the importance of education, training, consultation and the exchange of enabling information and good practices on prevention and the promotion of preventative measures, welcoming progress achieved through national, regional and international efforts to improve safety and health at work, the workshop organizers and participants resolve that we will:

  1. Help to promote high levels of safety and health at our workplaces and will support the building of a preventative safety and health culture.
  2. Continue to find innovative ways to participate in further skills development and research for the more accurate diagnosis, compensation and prevention of pneumoconioses.
  3. Commit to take steps to share as much of the skills and information we acquired with fellow health professionals and workplace tri-partite constituents.