TB Prevention in the workplace: the salon event in Guangzhou
As a part of the “TB Prevention in the Work Place – China Program”, sponsored by Lilly in the context of its largest CSR philanthropy program, a salon event was held in Guangzhou on September 28 as planned. The event was organized with a view to presenting the TB prevention toolkit to international brands and Chinese factories; it also aimed to select 3 pilot factories for implementing the toolkit.
Prior to the event, a flyer has been sent out by email and posted on BSR’s CTI (China Training Institute) website. The event was supported by the Institute of Tuberculosis Prevention and Control, which is under the supervision of the Bureau of the Health of Guangdong Province.
This 2-hour event was facilitated by Huang Yiling, Project Consultant at BSR; 15 of the 20 factories who were initially registered attended and actively participated. The participants were managers in the EHS, HR and Operations fields from different industries such as textile, bags, ICT, chemicals, bio-healthcare and sportswear. The event started with an introduction of BSR as a NPO specializing in CSR and Lilly as one of the top pharmaceutical multinationals committed to meeting its social responsibilities. Following a presentation of the MDR – TB program, the event was kicked-off by Mr. Yin Jian Jun, Head of the Prevention Division of the Institute of TB Prevention and Control. He started his presentation by pointing out the persisting threat TB presents, then focused on the current status of TB in China and worldwide, and ended with a presentation of the Toolkit.
After a 15-minute tea break, all attendees exchanged experiences at work and viewpoints of the toolkits. Some of them had already dealt with TB cases – either from a clinical angle because of a disease in the work place or as a HR-related law suite in their work place. Thus, they all appreciated the Toolkit believing that it will effectively help them get started in tackling TB in factories.
Discussions lasted longer than initially planned. The Chief of the Prevention Division, Mr. Yin, stayed for the discussions with participants, and promised to pass some questions/message on to his superior in order to get better governmental support coordination for TB prevention programs. He particularly thanked Lilly for develop ing such a Toolkit since preventing TB among migrant workers is one of the main tasks of the Guangdong Province this year. He also expressed his commitment to deliver training to pilot factories if he is available for the factory on-site training.
For the immediate next steps, BSR shall confirm with the interested factories and work on an on-site training module taking into account the specific situation of each of the 3 pilot factories. The on-site factory training is planned to take place in the first two weeks of November.
