From Neglected Solution to Global Priority
Over the past decade, alcohol taxation has moved from being a neglected policy solution to a recognised quadruple-win solution – reducing harm, raising revenue, financing health and development, and promoting social justice.
Many stakeholders have stepped up and scaled up their work on alcohol taxation in recent years – from WHO and the UN Interagency Task Force on NCDs to the World Bank, IMF, OECD, and initiatives like RESET Alcohol. But ten years ago, this was not the case.
At Movendi International, we are proud to have contributed to this progress. Our role has been to put alcohol taxation on the global agenda when no one else did, to translate evidence into action, to empower and inspire advocates, to mobilise civil society, and to support governments at every level.
Our advocacy has also meant exposing and overcoming alcohol industry interference against proven and lives saving alcohol policy solutions, such as raising alcohol excise taxes. Time and again, we have countered industry propaganda, exposed their fundamental conflict of interest, and revealed their attempts to pollute public discourse and mislead policymakers.
The Power of Advocacy, Collaboration, and Persistence
This is the story of persistence, collaboration, and justice – a decade of advocacy that shows how civil society can shape global health and development priorities and create real change for people and communities.
2015: Starting the journey
We began systematically advocating for alcohol taxation in the lead-up to the 3rd Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Together with the East African Alcohol Policy Alliance, we launched a landmark report showing how alcohol taxes contribute to the SDGs.
While our proposal was not included in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda – only tobacco taxation made it – the groundwork was laid for future breakthroughs as 2025 and 4th Financing for Development Conference would prove.
2016: Building knowledge
To sustain momentum, we launched the Resource Hub on Alcohol Taxation. With close to 700 articles to date, it remains the most comprehensive global resource bank to support advocates, governments, and journalists with evidence and best practices.
2017: High-level engagement
We met with newly elected WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to advocate for a joint global initiative on alcohol taxation.
That same year, we published the first-ever resource linking alcohol taxation to the achievement of at least ten SDGs.
2018: “The movement starts here”
At UNGA 73, we co-hosted the first-ever high-level side event on alcohol policy.
Heads of State, ministers, UN agencies, and civil society leaders joined forces – and WHO launched the SAFER initiative and technical package, with taxation as a core measure, where Movendi also played a pivotal role and was a partner from the beginning.
2019–2020: Expanding reach and recognition
At the Prince Mahidol Award Conference, we succeeded in bringing alcohol policy – and alcohol taxation in particular – into high-level discussions on socio-economic development. This was important because global health and development debates had long sidelined alcohol, even though the harm it causes undermines 15 of the 17 SDGs. By making the case at PMAC, we helped position alcohol policy as a global health and development priority, that warrants greater political attention.
In 2020, despite the challenges of the pandemic, Movendi International broke new ground by securing the first-ever philanthropic funding for alcohol taxation advocacy. Through the Charity Entrepreneurship Incubator and support from the Effective Altruism community, we were able to establish a sustainable funding base for the Center for Alcohol Policy Solutions (CAPS). This was a game-changer: it allowed us to move from ad-hoc advocacy to systematic, long-term support one country and civil society to advance evidence-based, fair, and modern alcohol taxation.
That same year, Movendi was honored with the UN Interagency Task Force Award for Advocacy. This recognition by the UN system mattered enormously: it validated our approach, gave visibility to alcohol policy in the global health community, and showed governments that civil society’s advocacy on alcohol taxation and alcohol policy more generally was credible and impactful. It was a moment that elevated our advocacy impact – and gave us new momentum for partnerships with governments, UN agencies, and civil society to make alcohol policy and alcohol taxation in particular the priority it should be.
2021: Scaling up
We launched the Center for Alcohol Policy Solutions (CAPS), providing technical support to governments.
With CAPS, we contributed foundational work support alcohol tax increases in Sri Lanka and supported advocacy in other countries around the world.
2022–2023: Global and regional breakthroughs
We played a pivotal role to put alcohol policy back on the agenda of the World Health Assembly and ultimately we contributed to the adoption of the WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan, ensuring taxation remained central.
WHO Europe launched its Signature Initiative on Alcohol Taxation. And Vital Strategies, with Movendi as key partner, launched the RESET Alcohol Initiative.
And the WHO African and European regions adopted regional adaptations of the Global Alcohol Action Plan in 2023 and 2022 respectively.
In 2023, at UNGA 78, we co-organized another high-level side event showcasing alcohol policy country successes.
2024–2025: Consolidation and bold commitments
At both UNGA and WHA high-level side events Movendi organised in 2024, we facilitated discussion on alcohol policy from new and innovative perspectives and broadened to community of voices from countries, civil society, and academia for alcohol policy and alcohol taxation progress at all levels.
In 2025, WHO launched the 3×35 Initiative – an ambitious call to raise taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and sugary drinks to save lives and raise resources for health.
For us, this was a full-circle moment: from the setback in 2015 when alcohol taxation was excluded from the outcome document of the 3rd Financing for Development Conference, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, despite our advocacy, to 2025 when alcohol taxation was included in the outcome document of the 4th Financing for Development Agenda, the Compromiso de Sevilla; and from our first conversation with Dr. Tedros in Montevideo in 2017, to hearing him now explicitly champion alcohol taxation as one of the fairest and most effective solutions shows that alcohol taxation has now found its place on the global health and development agenda.
Country Successes That Stand Out
Alongside shaping global agendas, we have supported our members and partners to achieve concrete reforms on the ground. Three countries stand out for me:
- Sri Lanka: With technical support from Movendi and CAPS to local partners, as well as RESET later on, the government implemented significant alcohol tax increases in recent years.
- Ghana: Our members’ advocacy contributed to successful alcohol tax reforms, overcoming alcohol industry interference.
- Vietnam: Local partners, supported by our technical knowledge, helped secure an evidence-based alcohol tax increases, despite attempts by the alcohol industry to derail the alcohol tax reform.
Lessons from a Decade of Advocacy
Looking back at this journey of making alcohol taxation the global health and development priority it should be, three lessons a very dear to out to me:
1. Invest in people’s capacity and build a movement.
We can shift global policy together. From our journey we can see the potential of people and communities on the ground being involved and being in the driver’s seat of change, with their lived experience and empowered with knowledge, tools, and confidence to advocate in their own contexts. And when they are connected in a larger movement change is possible.
This is why we created the Alcohol Taxation Resource Hub, built the Center for Alcohol Policy Solutions, conduct weekly capacity-building sessions, and support advocates around the world: to enhance capacity and build a global movement that sustains change.
2. Ensure values-based advocacy.
Values move people. Evidence is essential, but numbers alone don’t move hearts or change policies.
Advocacy grounded in values – fairness, justice, protecting children, and investing in communities – resonates widely. Over the past decade, we’ve seen how framing alcohol taxation as a matter of justice and social progress has opened doors and built broad support.
3. Start concretely but with a comprehensive vision.
When we began, we focused on concrete steps – such as pushing for recognition of alcohol taxation in global frameworks. But our vision was broader from the outset: to make alcohol taxation a catalyst for health, equity, and sustainable development.
Step by step, concrete wins have added up to something bigger: from global high-level side events to country reforms, from technical reports to the groundbreaking initiatives, such as RESET and the 3×35. The lesson for me is that starting with tangible action matters, but never losing sight of the comprehensive vision for change drives each of the concrete and sometimes small actions.
Looking Ahead
Ten years ago, alcohol taxation was absent from global health and development agendas. Today, it is recognised as a smart, fair, and cost-effective solution. Movendi International has contributed to this shift by mobilising civil society, supporting governments, and keeping the focus on people’s values, such as fairness and well-being, rather than private profit greed.
We’ve come far and we’re thankful to all the members, partners, donors, and champions along the way. The journey we’re on is far from over. Alcohol taxation is still underutilised and faces relentless alcohol industry opposition. But with the 3×35 Initiative, growing country momentum, and more empowered civil society advocacy movements, we are entering a new promising phase.
Our story shows what is possible: when people come together, guided by values of justice and health, even the most neglected issues can rise to the top of the global agenda.
