Health Security and Economic Stability Go Hand-in-Hand
At the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting on April 24, 2025, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised that investments in health systems are essential for economic resilience. Speaking during the session on “Impediments to Development and Growth in Africa,” he stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had killed an estimated 20 million people and cost the global economy more than 10 trillion U.S. dollars. In his view, a pandemic can be more devastating than war.
Dr. Tedros warned that health services in many developing countries, especially in Africa, are facing pressure due to reductions in official development assistance and trade disruptions. He stressed that ensuring health security requires strengthening domestic financing mechanisms. One such measure is the introduction or expansion of taxes on harmful products such as alcohol.
Alcohol Taxation: A Tool for Sustainable Financing
In his address, Dr. Tedros named alcohol taxation as part of the WHO’s support for countries seeking to move from aid dependency toward more sustainable, domestically driven financing models. WHO recommends alcohol taxation not only for revenue generation but also for its impact on reducing population-level alcohol consumption, harm, and costs.
WHO is supporting countries to navigate an accelerated transition from aid dependency to self-reliance, through efficiency gains and mobilizing domestic resources, including by taxes on tobacco and alcohol, and public health insurance.”
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, WHO
Research highlights the effectiveness of this approach. For instance, alcohol taxation supports public health systems, enables health promotion services, and reduces the burden of alcohol-related illness.
According to a global study, alcohol taxation ranks among the twelve most effective public policy interventions to eradicate poverty and support development, generating up to $53 in benefits for every dollar invested.
Further analysis highlights that well-designed alcohol taxes are among the most cost-effective tools for improving population health.
These taxes can contribute to closing health equity gaps and are projected to help prevent as many as 150,000 deaths globally by 2030.
Building Self-Reliance Through Evidence-Based Policy
Dr. Tedros also acknowledged that many low-income countries will continue to need concessional loans with appropriate conditions to maintain health system operations. However, he reiterated that a shift toward domestic resource mobilisation, including through alcohol taxation, can enhance national capacity to manage health financing.
Policy tools like alcohol taxation are key to helping governments stabilise budgets by reducing avoidable costs and generating revenue to invest in essential services while reducing the public health burden caused by alcohol use. This approach aligns with broader sustainable development goals by supporting both economic stability and health promotion.
Dr. Tedros concluded his remarks by reinforcing that health is a political choice. The inclusion of alcohol taxation in health and economic strategies reflects that choice, offering an impactful and measurable way to promote resilience, equity, and long-term development.
Already in 2010, the World Health Report said:
Raising taxes on alcohol to 40% of the retail price could have an even bigger impact [than a 50% increase in tobacco taxation].
Estimates for 12 low-income countries show that consumption levels would fall by more than 10%, while tax revenues would more than triple to a level amounting to 38% of total health spending in those countries. “
The World Health Report “Health Systems Financing. The Path to Universal Coverage” (2010)
15 years later the current leader of WHO speaking clearly about this untapped potential: Alcohol taxation holds significant potential for population health, for helping achieve the sustainable development goals and also for substantially contributing to financing health and development.
As such Alcohol taxation is a triple win policy solution:
- It helps reduce and prevent alcohol harm.
- It helps promote health system capacity and health equity.
- It helps raise domestic resources for health and development.
In 2024, a landmark report from the United Nations Interagency Task Force on NCDs provided fresh evidence, showing that of all the pro-health taxes now in common use, alcohol taxation probably has the most untapped potential: despite being used as a fiscal tool for centuries and being implemented in over 86% of countries worldwide, alcohol taxes have yet to be utilized to achieve their fullest impact for population health, revenue generation and economic growth.