In April, the WHO Regional Offices for Europe, the Americas (PAHO) and the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) released important guidance and advice on alcohol and COVID-19. With the new factsheet WHO reminded people that consuming alcohol does not protect them from COVID-19, and encouraged governments to enforce measures which limit alcohol consumption.
Alcohol is a major obstacle to sustainable development, adversely affecting 14 of 17 SDGs.
The focus in this event is on how evidence-based alcohol policies can contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Europe. In conjunction with this event, WHO Europe is also launching its new factsheet for policy makers "Alcohol consumption and sustainable development" and there will also be a presentation of a new Special Issue Alcohol Control Policy and Health in Europe of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
The event is jointly organized by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, Movendi International, NCD Alliance and PAHO.
The coronavirus crisis has brought into sharp focus the burden alcohol harms places on health systems in particular and societies in general. The pandemic has also shown that evidence-based alcohol policy interventions are impactful in protecting people and promoting health system functioning. But the alcohol industry is also attempting to exploit the crisis for their commercial benefits.
Major reports have provided unique and timely insights into these lethal interactions between alcohol and COVID-19.
Key guidance from the World Health Organization has provided guidance to people and member states on how to prevent and reduce alcohol harm during the pandemic and how to get through the crisis better through alcohol control.
The WHO Regional Committee for Europe is WHO's decision-making body in the European Region. The seventy-first session will be held virtually from September 13 to 15, 2021. Health ministers and high-level representatives of the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region as well as partner organizations and civil society will meet virtually to discuss current health issues and set the direction for future activities. This 71st session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe (RC71) will converge around delivering the WHO European Programme of Work 2020–2025 (EPW) – “United Action for Better Health in Europe”, which was adopted last year.
This side event will highlight the huge gap between evidence and policy action in the European Region and the need to scale up the implementation of relevant measures in order to reduce the burden of disease stemming from alcohol. It is organized by WHO Europe on the margin of the 71st session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe (RC71) and is co-hosted by Czechia.
At the symposium, high-level representatives from Member States, the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development will discuss the emerging evidence and how WHO-recommended measures and quality data can inform public health policies at national, regional and global levels.
WHO/Europe will launch its NCD Advisory Council Signature Initiative on alcohol tax during a symposium in Vilnius, Lithuania.
This webinar will discuss issues related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's health and how alcohol marketing, policies and interventions have affected them during this period in terms of alcohol consumption, as well as their implications for equity and the building of health systems that are responsive to gender differences and the needs of women across their life span.
The objective of this webinar is to support decision-makers who protect effective alcohol regulations by raising awareness of conflicts of interests, summarizing the current evidence on interference from the alcohol industry in public health policy as well as discuss best practices.
Member States of the WHO European Region are set to adopt a new Framework for Action on Alcohol at the 72nd session of the WHO Europe Regional Committee Meeting.
The Framework has been developed based on extensive engagement of Member States and civil society organizations since 2019, including a series of consultation meetings with Member States in 2019 and 2022, online public consultation and several rounds of review of documents. In addition, at a side event on alcohol control policies at RC71, Member States discussed the importance of increasing their commitment to high impact alcohol policies and the importance of working towards a SAFER WHO European Region free from harm due to alcohol.
WHO Europe is launching the Evidence into Action Alcohol Project (EVID-ACTION) to bring scientific evidence to promote and support the implementation of effective alcohol policies for the communities of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Ukraine.
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