A shocking finding from a recent analysis of United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks, rolled out between 2020 and 2023, has revealed that only 9 out of 135 countries (7%) included alcohol control measures in their cooperation frameworks.
The report describes a set of steps to enhance the prioritization of alcohol measures in future cooperation frameworks, emphasizing the role of individual UN system agencies in providing a whole-of-UN response to support Member States tackle the harm caused by alcohol.
Alcohol consumption contributes to 2.6 million deaths each year globally as well as to the disabilities and poor health of millions of people. Overall, harmful use of alcohol is responsible for 4.7% of the global burden of disease.
The report was launched at a high-level side event during the 79th UN General Assembly, Alcohol Policy for delivering a better present and safeguarding the future: why delivering on the Global Alcohol Action Plan is critical for meeting the SDGs. The meeting was co-sponsored by the Governments of Brazil, Ghana, Latvia, Lesotho, and Slovenia alongside UNICEF, UNDP, the Task Force, as well as Movendi International and Movendi New York, with WHO as a partner.
The report was also presented at the Annual Meeting of the Friends of Task Force, co-chaired this year by the Government of the Philippines and WHO.
