BY NICOLE GREESON, AIHA PRESIDENT

In October, I was privileged to lead a delegation of AIHA members to Vietnam. Our itinerary included five meetings with university faculty, representatives from government agencies, company leaders, and laboratory staff. The trip offered an opportunity for AIHA’s delegates to improve our understanding of occupational health and safety issues in Vietnam, deepen ties with our OEHS counterparts, and inform them about relevant AIHA resources. By opening the door to future collaboration, the trip was the first step in a potentially fruitful partnership that will ultimately help increase health and safety protections for Vietnamese workers. It was an excellent example of AIHA’s international strategy in action.

PREPARATIONS The trip was organized as part of the Citizen Ambassador Program run by Cultural Vistas, an organization that promotes understanding between cultures through international exchange programs. A representative from Cultural Vistas first contacted AIHA CEO Larry Sloan and me in the Spring to let us know that groups in Vietnam had requested an exchange program on occupational health and safety. The Cultural Vistas representative thought AIHA was an excellent fit for this program and invited us to participate.

During a follow-up call, we learned that Cultural Vistas had organized a similar trip to Cuba in 2023 for a delegation from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. ACOEM and AIHA have collaborated often over the years, and both associations participate in the Intersociety Forum, an occasional gathering of representatives from health and safety organizations, so we contacted ACOEM leaders to ask about their experience. They responded enthusiastically about their trip to Cuba and shared that they, too, were planning to send a delegation to Vietnam as part of a different Cultural Vistas exchange on occupational medicine. Having received such a positive reference, we confirmed with Cultural Vistas that we would participate.

To begin preparations, we reached out to Tuan Nguyen, MBA, CIH, CSP, ARM, FAIHA, who serves as AIHA’s ambassador to Vietnam. Tuan let us know that he was helping to organize a conference on occupational health and safety in his host country. Thanks to the flexibility of all involved, we were able to schedule the cultural exchange program to begin immediately after the conference, allowing us to attend both events. Tuan and his colleagues developed the itinerary for our trip, drawing on relationships they had cultivated for years. Meanwhile, we invited AIHA members to participate, ultimately forming a 15-person delegation.

THE HANOI CONFERENCE The fortunate timing gave us an opportunity to attend the First Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Conference at the Vietnam National University in Hanoi from Oct. 24 through Oct. 26. The conference was well attended, with a sizable audience of online participants. Dr. John Howard of NIOSH delivered the opening address. The conference program included sessions on hazards such as silica, asbestos, wood dust, and solvents; OEHS training, management, and capacity building; a visit to a local village where pottery is made using traditional techniques; and a sightseeing trip to the beautiful Tráng An Scenic Landscape Complex near Ninh Binh, about a 90-minute drive south of Hanoi.

I was honored to participate as a keynote speaker. My presentation was titled “Building a Safer Tomorrow: Designing a Comprehensive Workplace Health and Safety Strategy.” I spoke about the importance of conducting assessments to identify and stratify risks and prioritize and implement controls to prevent injuries and illnesses. I introduced the industrial hygiene process (anticipate, recognize, evaluate, control, and confirm) and showed attendees where they can find relevant AIHA resources such as our Competency Framework “Understanding and Applying ARECC to Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety” and our Technical Framework “Guiding Principles for Exposure Risk Assessment and Management.” I walked attendees through the steps of an exposure risk assessment and summarized how to justify controls, directing them to AIHA’s free Business Case in EHS Tool.

Following an example of assessing risk of silica exposure in construction, I spoke about AIHA’s Improving Exposure Judgments and Principles of Good Practice initiatives. I concluded with a few slides promoting membership and communicating the discounts on AIHA resources available to practitioners in developing economies.

THE DELEGATION ITINERARY On Oct. 27, the day after the conference, the delegation officially began with a cultural tour of Hanoi and a welcome dinner with our in-country coordinators. The next few days were packed with meetings. The groups we met with included faculty from the Hanoi University of Public Health; delegates from Vietnam’s National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health (NIOEH); faculty and students from the department of environmental engineering and technology at Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City and representatives from local companies; delegates from SGS Vietnam Ltd. Ho Chi Minh Laboratories; delegates from the Vietnamese Industrial Hygiene Association; and delegates from the Institute of Public Health in Ho Chi Minh City.

Each meeting had a similar agenda: to introduce the resources AIHA offers, to learn about the OEHS challenges facing Vietnamese workers, and to identify areas of potential collaboration. Discussions covered Vietnam’s growing semiconductor industry, OEHS initiatives conducted by local researchers, challenges with enforcing OEHS regulations, opportunities for outreach and education, and the educational standards and certifications required for industrial hygienists in Vietnam.

AIHA delegates Jim McGlothlin and Kyle Naylor gave well-received presentations. Jim spoke about his work on video exposure monitoring, while Kyle presented on how to build an IH program with limited resources. Capacity building was a major theme throughout.

My presentation at the meetings included an overview of AIHA’s international efforts, focusing on the work of our International Affairs Committee, our Ambassadors Program, and our Emerging Economies Microgrants. I talked about our content priorities and introduced our Heat Stress Mobile App, which several people downloaded while I was speaking. I also shared information about our new partnership with the Occupational Hygiene Training Association, Workplace Health Without Borders-U.S. Branch, and the Board for Global EHS Credentialing to encourage more people around the world to sit for the CIH exam. Quite a few students in Vietnam and elsewhere want to break into our profession, but because their courses of study tend to focus more on public health, engineering, or chemistry, some don’t have enough IH credits to meet CIH exam requirements. Our partnership offers these prospective OEHS professionals opportunities to qualify to sit for the exam by taking OHTA courses. They can also take our CIH Exam Crash Course at discounted rates.

TAKEAWAYS I was struck by the enthusiasm of the faculty and students we met and the general interest in collaboration. The program at Ton Duc Thang University is particularly impressive. Many of its graduates are currently practicing OEHS professionals.

The NIOEH representatives expressed eagerness to renew a Memorandum of Understanding with AIHA. Their organization combines the roles of NIOSH and OSHA in the U.S., in charge of both research on OEHS issues and enforcement of workplace health and safety regulations. Like the U.S. agencies, NIOEH struggles with funding and staffing levels.

In part because of the relationships we cultivated during the trip, OEHS professionals have the potential to make real progress in Vietnam. Many of the health hazards facing Vietnamese workers stem from lead and silica exposures. Take-home lead exposures are particularly problematic, exacerbated by home-based lead battery recycling that some families engage in to earn extra income. On these issues, AIHA has many resources and a great deal of expertise to offer.

I’m hopeful that our Vietnam trip can serve as a template for collaborations in other parts of the world, particularly in places where we already have ambassadors. Through our Ambassador Program, AIHA has a presence in many countries. Several positions are open, so if you’re interested in serving as an ambassador, go to the AIHA website to learn more.

I’m thankful to the staff at Cultural Vistas; to Tuan Nguyen, AIHA’s ambassador to Vietnam; and to our gracious hosts for organizing such a memorable experience. I look forward to growing these new relationships and supporting our peers as they build a robust OEHS profession in Vietnam.