Milestone Decision: WHO Western Pacific Countries Adopt Landmark Plan to Accelerate Alcohol Policy Action
Countries from across the World Health Organization Western Pacific Region (WPRO) today adopted a comprehensive and timely new regional implementation plan to accelerate the WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022–2030. The 76th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific (RC76) is the region’s highest governing body meeting, where health ministers and delegates from Member States set regional health priorities and review progress on key issues.
The decision to adopt the regional implementation plan of the Global Alcohol Action Plan marks an important step forward in preventing alcohol harm and promoting health, equity, and development.
We all want a Western Pacific Region where every person can live a healthy, empowered life – free from preventable harm. But this vision remains out of reach because of alcohol harm,” said Caterina Giorgi, Movendi International’s representative to RC76, in her official statement during the session.
Caterina Giorgi, Representative to the WHO in the Western Pacific, Movendi International
A Powerful New Roadmap Grounded In Science and Solidarity
The new plan “Accelerating Implementation of the WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022–2030 in the Western Pacific Region” provides a flexible but robust roadmap for countries to implement high-impact, cost-effective policies. It centers on six priority areas, including:
- Raising alcohol taxes and indexing them to inflation and income;
- Placing common-sense limits on alcohol availability, including home delivery and online sales;
- Banning or comprehensively regulating advertising, sponsorship, and promotion;
- Strengthening alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures;
- Expanding treatment access and screening in primary care; and
- Raising public awareness, including via new communications campaigns.
The plan is deeply anchored in the SAFER technical package and aligned with the regional vision of “Weaving Health for Families, Communities and Societies” – the five thematic priorities for WHO’s work in the Western Pacific Region for the next five years to improve health and well-being, and save lives. The thematic priorities include: transformative primary health care for universal health coverage; climate-resilient health systems; resilient communities, societies and health systems for health security; healthier people throughout the life course; and technology and innovation for future health equity. Alcohol harm impacts impacts four of these five priority areas negatively and alcohol policy action is a catalyst for progress across these thematic priorities.
It explicitly acknowledges the role of alcohol industry interference and commits to protecting policy-making from conflicts of interest.
Broad Country Support and Rising Momentum
During the discussion on the new regional alcohol action plan, Member States across the Western Pacific Region expressed strong support and shared their national experiences, challenges, and priorities. Many countries spoke about rising alcohol harm, especially among youth, and pointed to cheap alcohol, aggressive marketing, and inadequate enforcement as key drivers. Several countries highlighted alcohol affordability and pricing policy gaps, and shared progress or interest in raising alcohol taxes.
Countries also emphasised the value of WHO’s leadership and regional coordination. Countries called for tailored support, technical assistance, and experience exchange, reinforcing the importance of WHO’s role in setting norms and building implementation capacity.
Importantly, countries raised concerns about alcohol industry interference and echoed civil society. Movendi’s contribution to the deliberations drew attention to how alcohol industry practices – such as flooding communities with cheap alcohol products, exploiting digital platforms for marketing, and lobbying to delay alcohol policy initiatives – undermine health and equity.
Many countries also shared examples of promising action.
17 Member States and two civil society organisations voiced support for the new plan, including Solomon Islands, China, New Caledonia, Republic of Korea, Japan, Viet Nam, Mongolia, Cambodia, Marshall Islands, Hong Kong SAR (China), the Philippines, Micronesia, Fiji, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Kiribati.
Fiji
Fiji committed publicly to implementing the plan to address rising alcohol harm. They commended the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office for the draft action plan, considering that it incorporated interventions from the WHO Best Buys and the SAFER initiative. While delivering Fiji’s intervention on the alcohol plan, Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr Jemesa Tudravu stated that, although alcohol consumption in Fiji remained below the global average of 5 litres per capita, it had been rising in recent years.
This regional action plan is a valuable addition to the resources we can utilize to reduce alcohol consumption in our region, and Fiji fully supports it,” Dr Tudravu said.
Dr Tudravu noted that despite some progress, there were still gaps in the implementation of the SAFER interventions, particularly regarding:
- Marketing of alcohol products: This includes advertisements and sponsorships that target youth.
- Availability and affordability: Alcohol remains widely accessible, including through informal outlets. Additionally, pricing policies (such as excise tax levels) do not yet align with optimal public health standards.
Solomon Islands
They focused on locally distilled alcohol and young people binge alcohol consumption as critical problems and the challenge of effective enforcement of alcohol policy standards in rural and remote areas. They also called for a regional implementation framework with tailored approaches and realistic timeframes.
China
China focused mainly on mental health in their statement on this agenda item. They referred to how their strong mental health promotion campaigns rooted in evidence and highlighted the need for treatment of mental health conditions, including alcohol.
New Caledonia
New Caledonia highlighted their initiative to increasing the tax on alcoholic beverages and other alcohol policy measures, such as no advertising being allowed, alcohol in certain public places being banned, and the adoption of a strategic plan to lower alcohol consumption in 2018 which they reviewed in 2025.
Republic of Korea
The representative of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) addressed the need for comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising and promotion.
Japan
Japan’s representative underlined that effective alcohol control should be in line with the global alcohol action plan and kindly requested WHO WPRO and countries to provide tailored support to countries so they can implement evidence-based alcohol policy in accordance with ‘national contexts’.
Viet Nam
Viet Nam spoke about their alcohol policy actions, such as the Prime Minister approving the public program for alcohol control in 2024.
Mongolia
They shared that in April 2022, the President issued a decree to reduce the health, social, and economic burden of alcohol. Mongolia has introduced an alcohol excise tax, with scheduled biennial increases in taxes, where taxes are indexed to inflation. And they highlighted their commitment to whole of government action for NCDs prevention.
Cambodia
Cambodia highlighted their new efforts to introduce alcohol advertising bans – a key demand long advocated by Movendi members in the country. They shared that Cambodia adopted an alcohol control plan 2025-2030, issued a circular on the prohibition of alcohol advertising in and around public institutions, adopted an NCDs framework in 2024, and that they support the acceleration of action to reduce alcohol harm.
Marshall Islands
They shared concerns about the rising prevalence of high-risk alcohol consumption and that effective alcohol policy measures were needed. In the Marshall Islands, alcohol marketing and affordability, and the lack of enforcement capacity are serious challenges. They called on regional partners to strengthen collaboration.
Philippines
In the Philippines, alcohol remains a significant public health challenge. The country is prioritising marketing restrictions, alcohol-impaired driving counter-action, and healthcare measures. The Philippines mentioned the need to ensure protection from alcohol industry interference and underscored the importance of regional solidarity.
Micronesia
Micronesia addressed alcohol as a major driver of death and destruction in the country. They welcome WHO support for building capacity to enhance data monitoring and surveillance systems. They highlighted the opportunity of enhancing regional coordination and knowledge sharing.
Malaysia
Alcohol harm and heavy alcohol use are serious concerns. Malaysia also identified the growing availability of cheap alcohol as a problem which is why pricing policies were needed – particularly on ‘ready to drink’ alcohol products. Malaysia seeks to work with alcohol policy in a whole of government approach with a focus on the SAFER alcohol policy blue print: improving alcohol availability limits, raising alcohol taxes, as well as advancing alcohol-impaired driving counter measures through random breath testing, and expanding brief interventions.
New Zealand
New Zealand expressed strong support for the direction of the plan and welcomed its practical emphasis. They shared how they increased the alcohol levy and that the ministry of health is producing an annual report on attitudes and behaviours. They also shared initiatives to update the alcohol consumption guidelines based on new evidence around lower alcohol consumption and a new action plan on FASD.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea addressed the importance of responding to the realities of the rurality in the country. They are eager to learn from member states, especially regarding informal alcohol production. Measures to tackle alcohol availability and pricing are also important in Papua New Guinea.
Kiribati
Kiribati also commended WHO for the global alcohol action plan. They are working to actively promote alcohol-free events. The representative of Kiribati spoke about their initiative to comprehensively regulate alcohol marketing and the challenge to enforce their licensing system. Kiribati also highlighted the establishment of their health promotion foundation.
The breadth and substance of the discussion show that momentum is building across the Region – to scale up high-impact and evidence-based alcohol policy solutions from the SAFER blueprint, confront commercial interference, and fast-track effective alcohol policy action grounded in evidence and solidarity.
Movendi International welcomes the strong support from Member States and WHO leadership. We particularly commend Dr Saia Ma’u Piukala, WHO WPRO Regional Director, who said in his opening remarks that “implementation has been uneven, and industry influence remains a major barrier.”
Civil Society Contributions to the Deliberations
Two civil society organisations addressed the regional committee and contributed to the deliberations: Vital Strategies and Movendi International.
Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies highlighted their commitment to help advance the SAFER alcohol policy blue print through their RESET Alcohol Initiative, with a laser focus on the most effective alcohol policy solutions, especially alcohol taxation. Vital Strategies also highlighted people’s support for alcohol policy.
Movendi International
In her statement to the Regional Committee, Movendi International representative Caterina Giorgi welcomed the adoption of the new alcohol action plan, describing alcohol harm as a major obstacle to health, equity, and development in the region. She shared two powerful examples of lived experience to illustrate the human cost of alcohol harm – highlighting how people and families are impacted by preventable tragedies. Ms Giorgi emphasised the urgent need to reduce the affordability, availability, and marketing of alcohol, and called for more adequate safeguards to protect public health policy-making from alcohol industry interference. She reaffirmed Movendi’s commitment to work with Member States and WHO to fully implement the plan – through advocacy, collaboration, and solidarity with affected communities.
Watch both civil society statements here, with Ms Giorgi’s statement starting at 1:06:04 right after Vital Strategies’ intervention and download Movendi’s full statement here.
WHO WPRO Launches Groundbreaking Campaign: Every Drink Leaves a Mark
To support implementation of the new regional alcohol action plan, WHO WPRO has launched a new regional communications campaign to raise awareness about the often-overlooked harms of alcohol and to build public support for alcohol policy action. Titled “Every Drink Leaves a Mark” and promoted under the hashtag #AlcoholLeavesAMark, the campaign is designed to unmask the true impact of alcohol – on individuals, families, communities, and societies.
Grounded in the WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan and the region’s “Weaving Health” vision, the campaign aims to expose alcohol’s hidden costs, mobilise citizens, and challenge the normalisation of alcohol – especially among youth and in digital spaces saturated with aggressive alcohol marketing.
The strategy spans three phases between 2025 and 2026:
- Phase 1: Launch and Reach (September 2025 – January 2026) focuses on wide-scale content dissemination through WHO channels and country offices.
- Phase 2: Engagement and Resonance (January 2026 – June 2026) centers on personal stories and emotional narratives to deepen public connection.
- Phase 3: Policy and Behaviour Change (June 2026 – December 2026) aligns public awareness with political discourse to promote alcohol policy action and reduce consumption.
Key messages include:
- “Alcohol is cheap; the consequences are not.”
- “Alcohol harm extends beyond health – it erodes families, fuels inequality, and undermines development.”
Targeted at policymakers, parents, youth, and communities, the campaign uses digital storytelling, and partner engagement to spark a shift in public understanding and support for alcohol policy.
Gratitude and Solidarity
This achievement reflects years of advocacy and collaboration. Movendi extends heartfelt thanks to partners and allies across the region.
Movendi International President Kristina Sperkova commented:
We are very happy because this plan is excellent – and it will help countries in the region fast-track the most effective alcohol policy solutions.
I would like to thank Regional Director Dr Piukala and all WHO colleagues for the leadership and efforts to develop and champion such a comprehensive plan, rooted in the reality of the Western Pacific region and the latest evidence about alcohol harm and the potential of alcohol policy action.
I also want to express my gratitude with our members and partners in the region, for their tireless advocacy and research work at country and regional levels. Their efforts are anchored in the lived experiences of affected families and communities and their work has contributed to this breakthrough at the regional committee meeting.
Movendi International stands in solidarity with people and communities affected by alcohol harm and we’re ready to support countries and WHO in the full implementation of this new plan.”
Kristina Sperkova, International President, Movendi International
Movendi’s representative at the WHO Western Pacific RC76, Caterina Giorgi shared her perspective after multiple days of meetings and discussions with country, WHO, and civil society representatives at the regional committee meeting:
Far too many people across our region are negatively impacted and half a million people die each year because of alcohol. This doesn’t happen by accident. Alcohol corporations and their lobbyists are actively working to stop and delay policies and programs that would improve the health, safety and wellbeing of people across our region.
The health and wellbeing of families and communities should always come first.
This plan provides a powerful tool for governments to take action to prevent the many harms from alcohol and to support people when they need it. These are more than words on a page. If implemented in full – this will have a meaningful impact on people’s lives.
It is great to see this commitment from across our region for action on alcohol and the leadership shown by the Regional Director Dr Piukala in elevating this as a priority.”
Caterina Giorgi, Representative to the WHO in the Western Pacific, Movendi International
What’s Next: From Words to Action
Both Ms Sperkova and Ms Giorgi emphasise that it is crucial for the focus to shift now to full and evidence-based implementation. The evidence is clear. The public is ready. The harms are urgent. And the solutions are known, proven, and ready for implementation.
Movendi International stands ready to:
- Support governments in implementation with technical support;
- Mobilize civil society supoprt and provide capacity building; and
- Continue exposing alcohol industry interference and protecting against conflicts of interest.
The Western Pacific Region has an opportunity now to turn this milestone into momentum – to keep families and communities healthy, safe, and well.
