Asbestos Safety Conference in Perth Boosts Campaign to Ban Asbestos in South East Asia
In Perth, a delegation of Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA partners from Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia joined the 2019 Asbestos Safety Conference to learn from the Australian experience in banning asbestos, and to share their stories from the campaign to ban asbestos in South East Asia.
The delegation of doctors, scientists, and campaigners shared with the conference news on progress in banning asbestos, the latest research on asbestos diseases in Indonesia, plans for bans in Vietnam and Laos, and battles with the asbestos industry lobby. The delegation was led by the Laos Vice Minister of Health.
Speakers and participants in the ASEA conference international session celebrate the global campaign to ban asbestos.
The conference was attended by over two hundred and fifty government officials, researchers, activists, and victims of asbestos diseases from around Australia and the region.
The event was an important opportunity for campaigners and Asian governments to appreciate the vast scale of the problem in Australia and to see the resources that are put into managing the remaining asbestos in buildings and the environment in Australia.
Ban Asbestos Network members and Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA staff tour the National Centre for Asbestos-Related Diseases laboratory with PhD students.
The delegation visited the Asbestos Disease Society of Australia, the National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases, and the West Australian Government to build networks and to share the latest information.
Ban asbestos network campaigner and former parliamentarian Madame An, and physician Dr Daovone views mesothelioma cells at the National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease.
At the conference, Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA advocated to ensure that no Australian aid or development money funds asbestos; to reform the UN Rotterdam Convention that regulates trade in dangerous chemicals; and to support a regional initiative and resources to defeat the misinformation campaign of the asbestos lobby.
The conference was also an opportunity for Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA activists to host a Politics in the Pub talk with visiting activists to give members an update from the front-lines of the campaign to ban asbestos.
Ban Activist Network members and Laos Vice-Minister of Health visit Asbestos Disease Society of Australia.
Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA thanks the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency (ASEA), the International Ban Asbestos Network (IBAS), and the Asia Ban Asbestos Network (ABAN) for supporting the delegation to contribute to this important meeting on asbestos safety and eradication.
No Australian Money in Asbestos!
In our campaign to ban asbestos, we have discovered that Australian aid and development money is at risk of financing the asbestos industry in Asia. You can take action to help safeguard workplaces and communities Asia from a health time-bomb.