The ''International Maritime Health Association'
''IMHA''focuses on maritime health and safety with the objective to improve the quality of health of seafarers, fishermen, and port workers. The IMHA was founded on June 17, 1997, during the 4th ISMH in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
chaired by
Mohammed Saeme, who was also its first president. IMHA develops standards aim to improve the maritime health practices internationally, coordinating with national maritime authorities, the maritime industry, unions, and other international organizations.
International Symposia on Maritime Health
IMHA holds the International
Symposium on Maritime Health for members to present their studies on international maritime health biannually. The inaugurate symposium was in Turku Finland, 1991. The 10th ISMH was held in
Goa
Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
The 11th and 12th ISMH was held at
Odessa in 2011 and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
in 2013, respectively. Then i
Bergen 2015and
Hamburg 2019 The schedule
ISMH 16 - ATHENS, JUNE 2021 was cancelled due to the pandemic Altogether these 15 symposia held over 30 years served for discussions, creation of friendships and trusts in the creation o
MAHRE-Net 2020- see below.
IMHA-Research 2014-2019
IMHA Research was founded as a subgroup to IMHA in 2014 after some years of discussions and further developed especially related to the mental health and well-being promotion strategy by the European Commission The objectives were to provide a foundation safe and healthy preventive strategies within the UN Global Sustainable Goals, especially Goal 3: Good health and well-being for all workers and Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. Further, to encourage health research collaboration within and across disciplinary boundaries to establish evidence that will benefit the health of seafarers and help to improve safety and operational efficiency in the maritime sector. The activities in IMHA-Research declined over the years especially also caused by the
''Covid-19 Pandemic'' that hinders international meetings.
Maritime Health Research and Education-Net MAHRE-Net
Based on friendships and discussions over thirty years during the International Maritime Symposia th
MAHRE-Netwas founded in Zoom meeting 3 Sep 2020 5pm CET by members of IMHA-Research as an independent, non-profit Network. The aim is to improve and further develop the maritime health research and education based on the ideas and the work in IMHA-research, and recognized by the IMHA Board of Directors. The research programs and the methodological education Diplomas are not only for the maritime areas but for all industries. The background for MAHRE-Net origines from some similar research and educative initiatives like the International Maritime Health Surveillance Project 1997–2005, the
Occupational Health Risk Surveillance program in Wikiversity 2018-2021 th
Occupational Medicine Wikibook 2014-2021The Maritime Clinical Colloquial Network in Clinica Einstein, Panamá 2016-2019
th
Education and the Research in Occupational Medicine Residency program in the University of Panamá 2017-2020
The members of Mahre-Net come from national and international maritime- and occupational health organisations lik
International Commission of Occupational Health
ICOH, th
SEMM Spanish Society of Maritime MedicineDanish Society for Maritime Medicine
th
French Society for Maritime Medicine
and others. The aim is to provide a foundation safe and healthy preventive strategies within the UN Global Sustainable Goals, especially Goal 3: Good health and well-being for all workers; Goal 4: Quality education; Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and Goal 17: working together to reach the goals.
The International Diabetes and Hypertension Research Group
On the 12 Jan 2022, The International Diabetes and Hypertension Research Group for fishers, seafarers and other transport workers was created in a Zoom conference by specialists in diabetes epidemiology, diabetology, occupational and maritime medicine and public health with participation from Greenland, Russia, Denmark, Spain, France, Panamá and The Filippines. The aim is to provide a foundation for safe and healthy preventive strategies within the UN Global Sustainable Goals, especially Goal 3: Good health and well-being for all, Goal 4: Quality education; Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth and Goal 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goals - with the primary tasks:
# Revision of the ILO Guidelines for medical examinations (Urine dipstick to be replaced by valid methods)
References
External links
* IMHA {{official website, http://www.imha.net/
Medical and health organisations based in Norway
Maritime organizations
Organizations established in 1997