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Nearly forty years ago, at our 1987 annual conference in Montreal, AIHA helped form the International Occupational Hygiene Association. Since then, AIHA has played an active role in promoting occupational and environmental health and safety around the world. AIHA presidents and members of our Board of Directors have spoken at conferences held by local industrial hygiene and OEHS associations in South America, Asia, Australia, and elsewhere. We’ve led delegations of OEHS professionals on visits to various countries and hosted colleagues from other countries at our headquarters. In 2018, AIHA came full circle, welcoming hundreds of international practitioners to Washington, D.C., for the first IOHA scientific conference to be held in the United States. That year, we also converted “Basic Principles of Occupational Hygiene,” a course developed by the Occupational Hygiene Training Association, to an e-learning format that could be delivered anywhere in the world.

In recent years, AIHA’s international efforts have focused on delivering value to both individual OEHS practitioners and organizations based in other countries, ultimately benefiting workers around the world. These efforts include collaborations, translations, discounts, events, volunteer opportunities, membership benefits, grants, and other activities.

Working with Other Organizations

AIHA enjoys strong relationships with IOHA and OHTA. We leverage IOHA to promote AIHA’s products and services, including AIHA Connect, our webinars and publications, and the International On-Demand (ION) program recently launched by AIHA Proficiency Analytical Testing Programs LLC. (Designed to support laboratories outside North America, the ION program addresses logistical, regulatory, and cost barriers that may limit full participation in PAT.) OHTA, a not-for-profit charity run by a global group of volunteer occupational hygienists, offers training materials for technicians through in-person and online courses in more than fifty countries. OHTA’s exams are available in multiple languages, and its International Certificate in Occupational Hygiene (ICertOHTA) qualifies individuals to sit for the CIH exam.

The occupational hygiene associations ABHO in Brazil and AMHI in Mexico have translated sections of AIHA’s Principles of Good Practice (PGP) into Portuguese and Spanish, respectively. These translations were accomplished at no cost to AIHA. AMHI has also identified chapters of The Occupational Environment: Its Evaluation, Control, and Management and the forthcoming fifth edition of A Strategy for Assessing and Managing Occupational Exposures for Spanish translation.

We also work with Rotary International to promote products developed for our Commit to C.A.R.E. initiative to audiences throughout the Americas, including our recently updated Healthier Workplaces and Schools eBook (PDF). Translations were created free of charge to AIHA.

Volunteer Engagement

AIHA’s International Affairs Committee serves as a central point of contact for international organizations on issues related to professional, technical, and educational development. IAC’s goals include building occupational hygiene capacity in emerging economies, exchanging knowledge with AIHA’s “sister” associations, supporting IOHA’s initiatives, and growing AIHA’s membership base.

IAC also manages AIHA’s Ambassador Program, which supports a cooperative infrastructure of OEHS professionals. Our ambassadors help their host country build OEHS capacity, promote AIHA’s products and services, and recruit new members. AIHA has ambassador positions in 22 countries, and eight of these are currently unfilled. If you’re interested in serving as an ambassador, more information is available on the AIHA website.

Since 2018, AIHA has provided funding for projects that promote occupational hygiene through our Emerging Economy Microgrants Program, which is managed by a volunteer-led advisory group. Project proposals are accepted on a rolling basis and are reviewed quarterly. At this time, all microgrant funding for 2026 has been disbursed. Interested applicants are encouraged to check back in January for announcements regarding the availability of 2027 grants. More information on proposal selection criteria is available on the webpage. For an example of the kinds of projects we support, read this SynergistNOW post about an innovative water treatment system for a primary school in Kenya.  

Membership Discounts and Opportunities

OEHS professionals in developing countries can now obtain an AIHA e-International membership at the discounted rate of $25. At this rate, which is open to individuals who live in a low-income, lower-middle, or upper-middle income country as defined by the World Bank, members get access to the digital editions of The Synergist and the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, the Catalyst online community, volunteer groups, and lower prices on several AIHA products. Discounts up to 80 percent are available on selected courses and publications. Those who earn the iCertOHTA credential also receive a 50 percent discount on AIHA’s Certified Industrial Hygienist Exam Crash Course. And both domestic and international students can take advantage of AIHA’s free student membership.  

AIHA also offers organizational memberships with tiered pricing based on the number of employees. Currently, our organizational members include eight companies based outside of the U.S. For more information, contact our Membership and Customer Relations team.  

Global Stewardship

AIHA’s international focus stems from our longstanding commitment to global stewardship of the profession. That commitment is the reason why so much of what AIHA offers is freely available, including our PGP and Improving Exposure Judgments initiatives, our Heat Stress App, our IH Calculator App, and many other digital tools. To learn more about what AIHA offers to international audiences, visit the AIHA website.