The American International University-Bangladesh (AIUB) organized an interactive educational field visit recently for its Masters of Public Health (MPH) students to enhance their practical understanding of occupational health practices.
Forty-five students visited three factories under Reedisha Industries Limited located in Gazipur — Reedisha Knitex, Reedisha Food & beverage, and Formula One Spinning— where students engaged with industry experts, explored workplace health and safety challenges, and asked about occupational hazards and their prevention.
The visit provided invaluable hands-on experience, culminating in preparing hazard analysis reports, and showcasing AIUB’s dedication to preparing skilled public health professionals to address real-world public health practice which goes with AIUB’s outcome-based curriculum.
MPH students were pleasantly surprised to see that not even a single mosquito was sighted in all those industries visited. This may be possible due to its cleanliness and all-covered drainage system with no water on the ground, which are unfavourable places for mosquito breeding besides spraying insecticides.
Mosquito fogging is being done only twice a week after all workers have left work in the evening, as frequent exposure to such chemicals can be deleterious to the health of workers even if the concentration of pesticide is less in the fogging.
The students expressed their gratitude to the management of Reedisha Ltd for giving them the opportunity to visit their industries and learn from it.
Head of the Department of Public Health at AIUB Dr Wasif Alam said: “Most industries have restrictions for students visiting their industries, which becomes a challenge for our students to learn from.”