The West African Alcohol Policy Alliance has issued an appeal to the upcoming meeting of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa to prioritize the implementation of the regional alcohol control strategy.

Collaboration with dictators and an alleged war criminal. Tax avoidance in African countries. High level corruption. Exploitation of weak political systems. High profits on beer sales. The use of “beer girls” to maximize sales.

SAAPA warmly welcomes the recent news about the World Health Organization and its position on alcohol industry involvement in the process of developing alcohol policies: WHO will not consult with or enter into partnerships with the alcohol industry

The time and venue for the next Global Alcohol Policy Conference (GAPC) is now decided: Dublin in Ireland, 9-11 March 2020. This was announced in a joint statement by the GAPA chair and two Irish government ministers recently. Venue for the conference will be Dublin Castle.

Not all is bad, but it’s not all good either. This is the assessment of ten years of drug policy debate in the UN system, presented in the report “Peoples’ Voice” that was recently co-published by Drug Policy Futures and FORUT. The report has a critical analysis of the ongoing drug policy discourse and also a recommendation for policy areas that national governments should prioritize in the next ten years.

WHO recently launched a new action package – SAFER. It aims at supporting the global target of reducing harmful use of alcohol by 10% by 2025. The initiative has been strongly supported by several global civil society networks.