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Sep 25 '25, 1:15 PM - 2:30 PM
ALCOHOL POLICY AS CATALYST FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND NCDs PREVENTION
Learning lessons from alcohol policy successes and paving the way towards the full implementation of the Global Alcohol Action Plan
High-Level Side Event – United Nations General Assembly 80 and 4th HLM on NCDs and Mental Health 2025
Event Co-Organisers
- Ministry of Social Affairs, Estonia
- Movendi International
Event Co-Sponsors
- Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), Canada
- Ministry of Health, Ghana
- Global Mental Health Action Network (GMHAN)
- Ministry of Health, Latvia
- Ministry of Health, Lithuania
- Ministry of Health and Care Services, Norway
- Ministry of Health, Slovenia
- Ministry of Health, Spain
- Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), Thailand
- UNICEF
- UN Interagency Task Force on NCDs (UNIATF)
- RedPaPaz, Colombia
Date and time
- September 25, 2025
- 13.15 – 14.30
Place
- Conference Room VII, United Nations, New York, NY
Background
This side event during the 4th High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health and the UN General Assembly in 2025 comes at a critical time: Time is running out to make significant progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and meet the global targets.
In 2010, the World Health Organization developed a package of evidence-based, cost-effective interventions to effectively reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, 15 years later, implementation and enforcement of the best buys has been disappointing. Progress towards the nine global voluntary targets agreed to in the NCD Global Monitoring Framework is slow and uneven. According to WHO, most countries reported no progress on the alcohol policy best buys since 2010.
This signals the urgent need for action:
- to learn from countries that have achieved progress,
- to discuss country experiences that face and faced alcohol industry interference,
- to confront the growing political and commercial challenges that stall progress, and
- to discuss opportunities and the way forward together.
Alcohol is a major obstacle to sustainable development. Alcohol harm negatively affects 15 of 17 SDGs. For instance, alcohol harm causes a loss of 2.6% of GDP on average per country; alcohol remains the leading risk factor for death and disease among 15- to 49-years old; alcohol harms children and youth and other vulnerable groups disproportionately; and population-level alcohol use is projected to increase until 2030 – according to the most recent World Health Organization Global Alcohol Status Report.
Alcohol harm poses a significant and growing burden on people and societies in many regions. In most countries, the NCD burden due to alcohol is increasing. Since 2006, healthy life years lost due to cancer caused by alcohol have increased by 11% worldwide.
The burden of mortality and morbidity from alcohol consumption is highest in low-income countries (LICs) but these are also the countries that reported most frequently insufficient resources devoted to alcohol policy as the most important barrier to alcohol policy development since 2016.
At the same time, only a few notable exception of countries have made progress in responding to their alcohol burden by developing and implementing public health oriented alcohol policy solutions in the last decade. Most countries have made zero progress since 2010 regarding alcohol policy “best buys” implementation. Alcohol industry interference clearly increases as countries attempt to implement the “best buys”, as the WHO Global Alcohol Status Report shows.
Countries are off track to reach the Sustainable Development Goals target of 10% per capita alcohol consumption reduction until 2030. On the contrary, alcohol consumption has increased by 6% since 2010.
Member States of the World Health Organizations have recognized the lack of progress and identified alcohol as public health priority with urgent need to accelerate action. In 2022, Member States unanimously adopted the Global Alcohol Action Plan, with a renewed focus on the most cost-effective, high-impact, and scientifically proven alcohol policy solutions.
In all WHO regions, there are countries that are implementing proven alcohol policy solutions and their results are creating new momentum, showing the potential of alcohol policy for reaching health and development for all.
Objectives
The event will showcase alcohol policy making best practices from countries and provide a platform for discussion, and experience sharing. What drives alcohol policy progress and how can those lessons be more widely shared?
The event will take stock of key challenges in developing and implementing evidence-based and ambitious alcohol policy solutions. What are the main challenges and how can those challenges be overcome?
The WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan clearly defines what alcohol industry entities should refrain from doing. Nevertheless alcohol industry marketing exposes and targets children and youth, while alcohol industry interference blocks progress towards the targets of the SDGs and the Global Alcohol Action Plan.
The event will outline the role of communities and civil society in helping advance evidence-based alcohol policy making at all levels.
The event will provide novel and compelling insights into the benefits of alcohol policy action across the SDGs and especially for NCDs prevention and mental health promotion. It will chart the benefits of cross-border and international collaboration among member states. And it will pave the way towards 2030 and beyond – for a new decade of action where alcohol policy becomes the priority it should be.
With these elements, this high-level event will make the connection clear between lack of alcohol policy progress despite existing frameworks and commitments and chart the way forward for 2025 to be a turning point for alcohol policy.
Audience
The target audience of this high-level side event is member states representatives, as well as leaders of civil society organizations, academia, and UN agencies and programs.
Program
Moderator: Dr Nick Banatvala, Head of Secretariat, UN Interagency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs)
Guiding questions for the speakers: Framing the urgency – why 2025 must be a turning point for alcohol policy, NCD prevention, and mental health promotion? What are the key challenges and what are the main opportunities in advancing alcohol policy for development and health for all? How has alcohol policy helped advance SDGs, including NCDs prevention?
Welcome and opening
- Moderator Dr Nick Banatvala
Opening addresses
- Karmen Joller, Minister of Social Affairs, Estonia
- Kwabena Mintah Akandoh (MP), Minister For Health, Ghana
Scene setting keynotes
- Dr. Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific
- Kristina Sperkova, International President, Movendi International
Interactive roundtable
- Dr. Jaime Urrego, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Public Health and Service Provision, Colombia
- Carolina Pineros, Executive Director, Red PaPaz, Colombia
- Katie Dain, Chief Executive Officer, NCD Alliance
- Pedro Gullón Tosio, General Director of Public Health and Health Equity, Ministry of Health, Spain (video)
- Joanna Lai, Health Specialist, UNICEF
- Dr. Antonis Kousoulis, Global Mental Health Action Network
- Dr. Letícia Cardoso, Director of the Department of Epidemiological Analysis and Surveillance of Noncommunicable Diseases SVSA/MoH, Ministry of Health, Brazil
- Paula Johns, Executive Director, ACT Health Promotion, Brazil
- Dr. Oliver Kacelnik, Special Adviser Public Health, Ministry of Health and Care Services, Norway
- Dr. Jonathan Ngoma or Dr. Annie Chauma Mwale, Ministry of Health, Malawi
- Ferdinant M. Sonyuy, President & CEO, Reconciliation and Development Association (RADA), Cameroon
- Roy Small, Policy Specialist, UNDP
- Dr. Adam Karpati, Senior Vice President, Public Health Programs, Vital Strategies
- Dr. Alexander Caudarella, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA), Canada
- Dr. Kremlin Wickramasinghe, Regional Adviser on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, WHO Regional Office for Europe
- Karl-Sten Kõrgmaa, Estonian WHO Youth Delegate, Estonia
Closing reflections
- Dr Etienne Krug, Director, Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention, World Health Organisation
Wrap-up
- Moderator Dr Nick Banatvala