PICTURED at their graduation are the Illovo Sugar medical officers, (from left) Dr Sagumo Chotta (Kilombero), Dr Kizito Gondo (Maragra), Dr Nompumelelo Thwala (Ubombo), Dr Albert Mkumbwa (Nchalo), Dr Henry Chakaniza (Dwangwa) and Dr Charles Machila (Zambia Sugar). Congratulations Docs!

IN response to the challenge of improving Occupational Health among employees, Illovo’s five chief medical officers and one estate medical officer undertook a 2-year postgraduate diploma training programme in Occupational Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal College of Health Sciences.

Occupational Health is important in preventing illness among employees resulting from their work. It is also a legal requirement that the employer plays a key role in preventing ill health effects among the workforce. Hence, all the six medical officers attended the formal training programme, which commenced in February 2012 with more than 60 students enrolled. The programme involved one week of class work every month, assignments for each module, case studies and examinations after each module.

On 15 April 2015, after two gruelling years, only 33 students graduated. Of these, Zambia’s Dr Charles Machila was the sole graduate with a distinction.