HLM4 on NCDs Advocacy Priorities

4th UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health

Movendi International Advocacy Priorities

The Fourth High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on the prevention and control of NCDs and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing (HLM4) in September 2025 is a historic opportunity to mobilise political leadership for, increase investments in, and generate commit to ambitious alcohol policy action to prevent NCDs and promote mental health.

What is a UN High-Level Meeting?

On September 25, 2025, Heads of States and Government will meet at the UN General Assembly to set a new vision for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and the promotion of mental health and wellbeing towards 2030 and beyond through a new, ambitious and achievable Political Declaration. 

But what is a UN High-Level Meeting?

The United Nations General Assembly, the main decision-making body of the UN representing all 193 Member States and governments, calls a United Nations High-Level Meeting (UN HLM) to focus on specific issues that require global political dialogue.

UN HLMs serve to increase awareness of an issue and to build consensus and commitment on the way forward. A UN HLM will result in a consensus statement such as a political declaration, outcome document or statement which all UN Member States commit to. Civil society works to contribute to the formulation of these statements to help ensure their full implementation afterwards; so do health-harming industries. This is why we need everyone to get involved and act on NCDs. 

There have been three UN HLMs on NCDs. In September 2025 there will be a fourth HLM on NCDs which will focus on renewing commitments and accelerating actions to prevent and control NCDs by 2030. 

See below for how you can take action and be part of the advocacy movement.

HLM4: Shaping a Transformative Political Declaration

The Fourth UN High-level Meeting on NCDs (HLM4 on NCDs) marks a unique, decennial opportunity to adopt a new, ambitious, and achievable political declaration on NCDs and mental health conditions towards 2030 and beyond. Building on evidence and grounded in human rights, the declaration will form the core framework to accelerate global NCD prevention and control from 2025. 

Halfway to 2030, progress towards achieving SDG target 3.4 and reducing premature mortality from NCDs by one third through prevention and treatment and the promotion of mental health and well-being are off track. Failure to implement Best Buys policies to tackle NCDs risk factors, such as alcohol, has caused rising harm – even though it was and is avoidable. Underinvestment in health services has created a significant equity gap in care and support for people affected by NCDs and mental health conditions. Unless urgent action is taken, the health of people, households and societies will be significantly affected.

The global NCD burden and the urgency of promoting mental health and well-being are no longer just a health system problem. HLM4 calls upon Member States and global partners to renew and level-up their committed to addressing NCDs and mental health challenges – through better whole-of-government and whole-of society collaboration, and by reshaping health systems, supporting sustainable financing mechanisms, and tackling the underlying social, economic, commercial and environmental drivers of risk and inequities.

Next Steps in Process Toward HLM4 on NCDs

• September 25, 2025: Fourth High-Level Meeting will convene under the auspices of the President of the United Nations General Assembly to adopt the outcome document. The High-Level Meeting will also provide an opportunity for Member States to deliver statements, and for Member States, NGOs and private sector entities to engage in roundtable discussions.
• Ongoing until September 2025: The Member State co-facilitators will preside over the negotiations among Permanent Missions in New York on the 2025 outcome document with a zero draft document to be released.
• May 19 – 27, 2025: World Health Assembly, including an official side event on the Fourth High-Level Meeting (to be confirmed).
• May 23, 2025: Movendi International, Slovenia, Latvia, WCRFI, IFMSA and others convene the “WHA78 Side Event: Centering Human Rights To Address Alcohol Harm“.
• May 23, 2025: Deadline for government to respond to Zero Draft with comments.
• Open until May 20, 2025: Accreditation of civil society organizations for the Fourth High-level Meeting.
• May 12, 2025: Zero Draft of the Political Declaration is published.
• May 2, 2025: Interactive multistakholder hearing convened by the President of the General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA.

Multistakeholder Hearing

A multistakeholder hearing to collect input from a broad range of participants including civil society and relevant private sector entities will precede the High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases and the promotion of mental health and well-being (HLM4).

The “Multi-stakeholder Hearing on the Prevention and Control of NCDs and the Promotion of Mental Health and Well-Being” took place on May 2, 2025, with Movendi International and several of our members being present and delivering statements (see below).

One of the aims of the MSH is to identify concrete milestones for HLM4 and the Political Declaration that it will issue.

The MSH consisted of two panels: 

The Key Messages for Ministers of Health

Movendi International and our members around the world engage in the process leading up the the HLM4 on NCDs to contribute to an ambitious, evidence-based political declaration that applies the lessons learned since the HLM3 on NCDs in 2018.

Through the Political Declaration of the 2025 High-Level Meeting on NCDs, we call on government to ensure to:

Our Solutions

• Alcohol policy solutions are available, proven, and scientifically unimpeachable.
  • They yield immediate positive results.
  • They yield substantial returns on investment.
  • They yield multiple benefits for people’s health, economy, health systems, and 15 of 17 SDGs.
• The alcohol policy Quick and Best Buys hold vast untapped potential for NCDs prevention, including cancer prevention, cardiovascular disease prevention, mental ill-health prevention, liver disease prevention, and more.
• Alcohol policy solutions ensure sustainable policy outcomes across multiple policy areas, even beyond public health. They yield co-benefits across the SDGs, including for social development, environmental protections, and economic productivity.
• The alcohol policy Quick and Best Buys generate much needed domestic resources, through cutting avoidable costs and generating additional revenue – useful for financing NCDs prevention and control.
• Evidence-based alcohol policy action rooted in the Quick and Best Buys leads to health systems strengthening because it eases the current burden, prevents avoidable costs, and unlocks additional investments.

The Problem

An overview of recent data from the 2024 WHO Global Alcohol Status Report.

Alcohol consumption trends

• Total alcohol per capita consumption in the world population decreased slightly from 5.7 litres in 2010 to 5.5 litres in 2019 (relative reduction of 4.5%).
• The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on global alcohol consumption, with an estimated 10% relative reduction from 2019 to 2020 but with different, and sometimes opposite, impacts in different countries and population groups. 
• In 2019, 56% of the world’s population aged 15+ abstained from consuming alcohol – the numbers of alcohol consumers and abstainers in the world are relatively stable over time.

Alcohol Harm Fueling NCDs and Mental Ill-Health Crisis

• Worldwide, 2.6 million deaths were due to alcohol in 2019, representing 4.7% of all deaths in that year. 
• The alcohol-attributable disease burden is heaviest among males: 2 million alcohol-attributable deaths and 6.9% of all DALYs among males and 0.6 million deaths and 2.0% of all DALYs among females in 2019. 
• The WHO African and European regions face the highest levels of alcohol-attributable deaths per 100,000 persons.
• Heaviest burden shifting: The highest alcohol-attributable mortality and disease burden per litre consumed is now in low- and lower-middle-income countries, where health systems are least equipped to manage it.
• Globally, at least 400 million people, or 7% of the world’s population aged 15 years and older, live with alcohol use disorders.
  • An estimated 209 million (3.7% of the adult world population) live with alcohol dependence, with substantial differences in the numbers of people affected in different WHO regions. 
  • The AUD burden increased in the African, Eastern Mediterranean, and South-East Asia regions from 2010 to 2019, while it declined in high-income regions such as the Americas and Europe.
• Cancer deaths due to alcohol are increasing.
  • Since 2006, the total number of healthy life years lost due to alcohol-related cancer in the world has increased by 11%.

Alcohol Policy Trends Reveal The Need for Action According to WHO

• Most countries reported no progress on the “best buys” in alcohol policy since 2010, signaling the urgent need for action. 
• More than wealthier nations, lower-income countries frequently reported insufficient resources devoted to alcohol policy, 
• Member States continued to report interference from the alcohol industry in alcohol policy development.
  • In 2019, two out of every five people lived in a country that reported such interference over the past three years.

The WHO identifies alcohol as an urgent public health priority with accelerated action needed. And the WHO warns that without major policy changes, the global target of a 10% reduction in population-level alcohol use by 2030 will not be met – and consumption is projected to rise instead.

The current trends indicate that the global target set for alcohol consumption will not be met by 2030, and achievement of this target will require political commitment and full implementation of the Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022–2030, with a focus on the high-impact policy solution included in the SAFER package.

Achievement of SDG health target 3.5 requires active engagement and empowerment of civil society organisations, professional associations and people with lived experience of alcohol use disorders and other health conditions due to alcohol use. 

New GBD Data Reveals Alcohol Remains Top Risk Factor For Global Disease Burden

New Study Reveals High and Rising Global Burden of Alcohol Use Disorder, Alcohol-Related Liver Disease, and Liver Cancer Caused by Alcohol

From 2000 to 2021, around one-fourth of countries and territories exhibited an uptrend in the prevalence rate of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). The study also revealed a noteworthy rise in ALD and alcohol-attributable primary liver cancer burden both from the past two decades and during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, females exhibited a higher increase in prevalence, incidence, and mortality from ALD compared to males, in contrast to prior to the pandemic.

Advocacy Resources

From 2018 to 2025 and Beyond: Why Upcoming High-Level Meeting on NCDs Matters So Much For Alcohol Policy Progress

The 2018 Political Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) failed to deliver ambitious and evidence-based commitments on alcohol policy, leaving critical gaps that hindered progress in NCDs prevention and control.
As the 2025 High-Level Meeting on NCDs approaches, Movendi International advocates for a bold, evidence-based approach that prioritizes alcohol taxation, the WHO Best Buys, and safeguards against alcohol industry interference. This long-read analysis highlights the shortcomings of the previous declaration and outlines key advocacy priorities to ensure the next political declaration effectively addresses alcohol harm and accelerates progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.

New Study: Alcohol Taxation Among 12 Most Efficient Ways to Eradicate Poverty, Promote Development

A new study has identified 30 cost-effective interventions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the fastest way possible. Among these interventions, alcohol policy and especially alcohol taxation have been ranked as the second and third most effective intersectoral policies. Implementing these measures could prevent 150,000 deaths caused by alcohol in the next ten years. For every dollar spent, a country could get back $76 worth of good things happening in society, while alcohol taxation alone can generate benefits worth $53 for every dollar spent.

New Study: Alcohol Policies to Prevent NCDs Generate Positive Societal Impacts Immediately

Researchers reviewed 49 interventions previously established as cost-effective to identify the earliest possible detectable effect on high-level population health targets. 25 interventions qualified as quick buys, including four alcohol policy solutions.
With an eye on the 2030 SDG deadline, researchers sought to identify, from among the best buys and other recommended interventions, those that can be expected to demonstrate impact on population health within five years or less—and in some cases immediately; these are the quick buys. Notably, the alcohol policy quick buys generate positive effects immediately.

New Report Shows Raising Pro-Health Taxes Could Save 50 Million Lives Over Next 50 Years

The Task Force on Fiscal Policy for Health has released a new report, “Health Taxes: A Compelling Policy for the Crises of Today”. The report illustrates the significant potential of raising pro-health taxes for saving lives and raising revenue to invest in programs and services for people.

New WHO Report: Alcohol Best Buys With Second Highest Return on Investment

Keeping people healthy reduces health costs, increases productivity and leads to longer and healthier lives, according to a new report by the World Health Organization. The “Saving lives, spending less: the case for investing in noncommunicable diseases” report focuses on 76 low- and lower-middle-income countries. The report explains the NCD Best Buys and shows how every dollar invested in scaling up Best Buy actions in these countries could generate a return

Regarding the return on investment, the report shows that the alcohol policy Best Buy solutions are the second best set of options among all 16 NCD Best Buys. The report also highlights alcohol and tobacco taxation specifically, as high-impact measures to finance NCDs prevention.

New UN Report Makes the Case for Alcohol Taxes

Of all the health taxes now in common use, alcohol 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.

This document supports policymakers and other stakeholders to implement alcohol taxes more effectively, with a focus on the political economy of alcohol taxation and on how policy processes are shaped at a national level.