Event highlights
On 23–26 June 2024 in Madrid, Spain, WHO/Europe and the Ministry of Health of Spain brought together 2 networks devoted to reducing harms from alcohol: the network of Member State focal points from 30 countries in the scope of the WHO–European Union (EU) Evidence into Action Alcohol Project (EVID-ACTION), and the EVID-ACTION Alcohol Youth Network.
The EVID-ACTION Alcohol Youth Network came together on 23–24 June 2024 to discuss and define their strategy and elect their advisory committee. They also began developing a set of activities that the Network will undertake, including:
- reporting on and mapping approaches towards alcohol control within the EU Parliament;
- conducting advocacy trainings on EU, national and local levels;
- establishing a research collaborative to conduct research and collect data on a variety of alcohol-related topics; and
- creating and distributing a toolkit for alcohol-free events.
On 25–26 June, the EVID-ACTION national focal points were invited to share updates on alcohol control policies in their countries and to learn about legal impediments to implementation of marketing and labelling policies.
The meeting started with opening speeches from Dr Pedro Gullón, General Director of Public Health and Health Equity at the Ministry of Health, and Dr Gauden Galea, Strategic Adviser to the Regional Director for Europe on Noncommunicable Diseases and Innovation.
Both emphasized the need to address commercial determinants of health when implementing alcohol control policies. This follows the recent release of a WHO/Europe report showing how corporate interests affect public policy and decision-making in many areas. The report describes how big industry uses various tactics to delay, deter and block health policies, including alcohol control policies.
“Acting on alcohol is not easy to do; however, if we were here for the easy things, we would not be in public health. But we have the power of the scientific evidence with us, we have the power to regulate, and we have the power of organized society,” said Dr Gullón.
“We know from the evidence that, on alcohol, we have to do more than we do now. We need these spaces and these discussions to put it on the political agenda, to counteract commercial determinants of health and commercial determinants of alcohol consumption,” he concluded.
The meeting provided just that – a crucial opportunity for the EVID-ACTION networks of policy-makers and young advocates to connect, create synergies and enhance collaboration. Youth Network members shared their groundbreaking research on QR codes, a tactic used by the industry to bypass mandatory alcohol labelling. This dynamic exchange merged youth perspectives with policy-maker insights, leading to concrete policy recommendations and coordinated action at both EU and national levels.
Event notice
As part of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the European Union (EU) aims to reduce harms due to alcohol consumption with the WHO/EU Evidence into Action Alcohol project (EVID-ACTION) in 30 countries (EU plus Iceland, Norway, and Ukraine). The project was officially launched in December 2022 in collaboration and coordination with, and supported by, WHO/Europe.
With the project being well underway in its second year, progress has been made collaboratively to tackle the reduction of alcohol-related harms; for example, the EVID-ACTION Youth Network emerged as a platform uniting dedicated young individuals to support the implementation of the project’s various facets.
From 23–24 June 2024, the EVID-ACTION Youth Network will convene in Madrid to:
- formulate an agreement on the Network's strategy and draft terms of reference, encompassing membership, governance, and management for the duration of EVID-ACTION;
- establish an advisory committee;
- define forthcoming activities to advance the network's overarching mission;
- finalize a presentation of the project about QR codes on alcohol containers developed by Network members, slated for delivery to EVID-ACTION Member States focal points on 25 June 2024.
Following the Youth Network meeting, the EVID-ACTION Member State focal points will hold their annual meeting from 25–26 June 2024 in Madrid. On the first day of the meeting, the Youth Network will get the opportunity to present their project on QR codes to the Member State focal points. This marks an important networking opportunity for the two EVID-ACTION networks, serving as a catalyst to amplify ongoing work in the EVID-ACTION project.
In addition, the main objectives of the two-day meeting of the EVID-ACTION Member State focal points are to provide:
- an opportunity to discuss the implementation, by Member States, of the policy actions included in the European Alcohol Framework 2022–2025, including priorities for action and challenges;
- an update from WHO on progress on alcohol control, including EVID-ACTION initiatives and actions related to the 3 main work packages; and
- a workshop on legal issues, challenges and impediments related to alcohol control policies.
Participation in the meeting is by invitation only. The working language will be English.