Scientific News Article
Exclusive: Partnering With Alcohol Industry on Public Health Is Not Okay, WHO Says
Summary
The message that partnering, collaborating, taking funding, and even talking with the alcohol industry on some subjects is not acceptable has been laid out in an internal note to WHO staff.
“The public health objectives of WHO in relation to alcohol should serve as the basis for any interaction with the alcohol industry,” says the email, seen by The BMJ.
Excerpt, from Ingrid Torjesen
The message that partnering, collaborating, taking funding, and even talking with the alcohol industry on some subjects is not acceptable has been laid out in an internal note to WHO staff.
“The public health objectives of WHO in relation to alcohol should serve as the basis for any interaction with the alcohol industry,” says the email, seen by The BMJ.
“The nature of interaction between the WHO secretariat and the alcohol industry should be limited to a dialogue and exchange of information for achieving positive outcomes for public health. Interaction with the alcohol industry within a given framework should not lead to or imply ‘partnership,’ ‘collaboration,’ or any other similar type of engagement that could give the impression of a formal joint relationship, the reason being that such engagements would put at risk the integrity, credibility, and independence of WHO’s work.”
WHO stopped short of recommending that other organisations and governments should follow its policy.
Governments seeking advice from WHO on the appropriate level of engagement with the alcohol industry will be told that this decision is “at the discretion of each member state,” although the potential risks of engagement should be pointed out, WHO staff have been told. These include conflict of interest and “undue or improper influence” on public health work, especially in policies, norms, and standard setting.
Governments will also be warned that engagement may be used by the alcohol industry primarily to serve their interests with limited or no benefits for public health; could be conferred as an endorsement of the alcohol industry’s name, brand, product, views, or activity; and considered as “a whitewashing of the alcohol industry’s image.”
Several governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been criticised for partnering with the alcohol industry.
The Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria has been criticised for partnering with Heineken because of a conflict of interest with the fund’s objective to tackle the burden of HIV and AIDS and because it gives Heineken credibility in its marketing to consumers and legitimacy as a partner to governments.
Last year, Ian Gilmore stepped down from his role advising Public Health England because he objected to the agency’s partnership with the industry funded charity Drinkaware, which he argued would undermine efforts to protect public health.
His concerns were backed by at least 40 health organisations including Alcohol Health Alliance, the BMA, the Faculty of Public Health, the Royal Society for Public Health, and Alcohol Concern.
Gilmore, director of the centre for alcohol research at the University of Liverpool, described WHO’s guidelines as “an excellent document” which he hoped would be used as a template by other organisations and governments.
Excerpt source: ProQuest