Manti Michael Nota 2021 Leslie Nickels International Health & Safety Awardee OHS Section APHA Oct 27

Описание: 2021 Leslie Nickels International Health and Safety Awardee: Manti Michael Nota, MSc, AFOH
Occupational Health and Safety Section of the American Public Health Association, October 27, 2021
Manti Nota is a Tanzanian industrial hygienist who has dedicated his career to improving occupational health in Africa. In 2016, Manti left a secure position in Tanzania’s largest mine to work with self-employed artisanal miners in communities in northern Nigeria where lead poisoning from gold ore has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of children and severe poisoning of thousands of children and adults. As a staff member of Occupational Knowledge International, a U.S. based nonprofit organization, he has been embedded with Doctors Without Borders who have been leading the response to the lead poisoning crisis in Nigeria since 2010.
Manti has demonstrated dedication to improving the health of mining communities under extremely difficult conditions in a region suffering from kidnappings and violence. He exceled at earning the trust of miners, religious authorities and community leaders to work cooperatively to change work practices in order to reduce lead, silica and other hazardous exposures. He created health and safety committees in the target villages to empower miners to oversee improvements and to ensure sustainability over time. Manti also initiated a train-the-trainers program to facilitate peer training of new miners in response to large numbers of internal displaced people moving into the area.
In this role, Manti has trained more than 4,000 miners in safer mining practices, organized lead hazard awareness training for women in the impacted communities, and provided training and mentorship to state level government employees. The success of these efforts has been documented in two articles in the peer-reviewed literature.
Throughout his five years in Nigeria, he was away from his family for extensive periods of time and based in remote villages where his movements were restricted due to insecurity. Despite these hardships he has proven his dedication and returned to Nigeria to work with these communities.

Leslie Nickels International Health and Safety Award
Leslie Nickels (1953-2017) used her training as an educator and industrial hygienist to advance social justice for disenfranchised workers. This award recognizes individuals with outstanding achievement in the field of occupational health and safety outside the United States.