Event highlights
03 October 2023
The newly designated WHO Collaborating Centre on Substance Use, Noncommunicable Diseases and Policy Impact in Barcelona was officially launched on 13 September 2023 during the research-to-policy conference on population-level impact of alcohol control policies in the European Union (EU).
We have just been appointed as a Collaborating Centre of the World Health Organization, and for us, this is a great honour and a great challenge,” said Joan Colom, Director of the Subdirectorate General of Addictions, HIV, STD and Viral Hepatitis at the Public Health Agency of Catalonia and Head of the new Collaborating Centre. “I believe that this recognizes more than 35 years of our hard work at the regional, national, and international levels. It is a very important commitment for us, to develop policies in all areas, from research, prevention, harm reduction and treatment, and, of course, training.”
In addition to the launch of the new Collaborating Centre, the conference in Barcelona included:
- presentations and discussion of the newest evidence on assessment and quantification of the population-level impacts of alcohol control policies in areas beyond “WHO Best Buys,” with a specific focus on alcohol labelling and screening, and brief interventions;
- a discussion of the differential impact of alcohol policies, particularly for groups bearing a disproportionate alcohol-attributable health burden;
- presentations of the activities of the WHO/EU Evidence into Action Alcohol Project (EVID-ACTION) early career research network; and
- a discussion on the future of alcohol policy monitoring and impact analyses, including examples from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Nordic alcohol monopolies and community action initiatives.
Event notice
13-14 September 2023
WHO/Europe is organizing a research-to-policy conference to present and discuss the latest evidence on potential population-level impact of alcohol control policies in areas beyond “WHO best buys”, with a specific focus on alcohol labelling, screening and brief interventions.
The conference will identify and discuss potential research gaps and priority areas in the field of alcohol control, and strengthen advocacy work and awareness-raising activities.
As part of the conference, the newly established WHO Collaborating Centre on Substance Use, Noncommunicable Diseases and Policy Impact in Barcelona will be officially launched. The Centre has been recently designated and will support WHO in building capacity, and developing and conducting seminars, workshops and meetings. These in turn will enable countries to develop and implement policies to address substance use as a risk factor through multisectoral action.
Participants of the WHO/Europe Early Career Researchers course on alcohol and public health will present their final projects during the conference.
The event is organized by the Alcohol, Illicit Drugs and Prison Health Programme of the WHO Regional Office for Europe in partnership with the new Collaborating Centre (Public Health Agency of the Generalitat de Catalunya – GenCat). Between 80 and 100 researchers, policy-makers and Member State representatives from the WHO European Region are expected to attend.
The conference, which is by invitation only, is co-funded by the EU, as part of the WHO/EU Evidence into Action Alcohol project (EVID-ACTION).
If you are interested in following the conference online please complete the registration form.
For further inquiries, contact: Maria Neufeld, Technical Officer, WHO/Europe neufeldm@who.int