Welcome to a brand new edition of carefully curated weekly alcohol policy news, latest scientific updates, and brand-new stories about the predatory practices of the alcohol industry.
This week’s Special Feature explores the conflict of interest that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has created for itself in global health as they made a massive investment in alcohol industry giant Heineken.
This newsletter includes our Alcohol Issues Podcast and three upcoming event alerts.

Alcohol Issues Newsletter February 21 – 28, 2023

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Alcohol Issues Special Feature – No. 08

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Undermines Its Global Health Credibility With Massive Investment in the World’s Second Largest Beer Producer

Bill Gates and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation buy stake in Heineken for $902 Million.
But there is serious concern about the apparent conflict of interest in relation to Mr Gates’ and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s stated goal to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty world while they seek to profit from an industry that is causing serious harm to millions of people around the world.
Movendi International criticizes the investment and calls on Mr Gates and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to retract their investment from Heineken.

90+ Stories of unethical business practices since 2015

Movendi International is monitoring, documenting, and exposing the unethical and predatory practices of alcohol industry giants. Concerning Heineken, Movendi International has revealed more than 90 cases of unethical, predatory, and sometimes outright illegal activities of the beer giant to maximize profits.

Some of the most shocking and egregious cases of Heineken’s harmful practices have been documented by investigative journalist Olivier van Beemen. His book “Heineken in Africa” exposes the beer giant’s predatory practices, including:

  • Support for apartheid
  • Complicity in genocide
  • Support for authoritarian regimes and collaboration with rebel groups
  • Corruption
  • Tax avoidance
  • Aggressive political lobbying to obstruct, derail and undermine public health policy making
  • Unethical alcohol marketing, like beer promotion in schools
  • The beer promotional girls scheme, running for almost two decades
  • Exploitation of young women
  • Sexual abuse
  • Serious problems with protecting worker’s rights
  • Severe issues with ensuring adequate workplace safety
  • Misinformation about alcohol’s effects
  • Fuelling stereotypes about Africa

A selection of cases shows that Heineken is driving massive alcohol harm with predatory practices affecting the most vulnerable people and communities around the world:

The Alcohol Issues Podcast

The Alcohol Issues Podcast is an original production by Movendi International. It’s a show about current alcohol issues of global importance. Through in-depth conversations with policy makers, community leaders and scientists, we explore alcohol policy issues, discuss landmark scientific studies, and expose the alcohol industry.

The Alcohol Issues Podcast is a unique resource to stay updated about latest developments in the field of alcohol policy and science. We make complex issues more easily understandable and drive the global conversation about modern alcohol policy solutions.

Upcoming Events Calendar 2023


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