Reducing harm from alcohol use in the community Symposium held in Bali, Indonesia 4-6th October 2007

Symposium - Recommendations

Primary responsibility of WHO (in collaboration with other relevant sectors)

1 Information systems and operational research

• SEARO should provide technical assistance to Member States to implement community-based assessment of alcohol use (including the sociocultural factors influencing use), harm from alcohol use and suggestions from the community on prevention of harm from alcohol.

• WHO (HQ and SEARO) should assist Member States to design a uniform information system for collecting and analysing data that should include:
  • Magnitude of alcohol use, harmful use and dependence
  • Consumption patterns
  • Alcohol problems encountered
  • Alcohol policy options appropriate for the country

SEARO should provide technical support to Member States to review the existing literature related to various aspects of alcohol use, based on which country-specific areas for future research can be identified.

2 Illegal and home-brewed alcohol
SEARO should assist Member States in developing a database on illegal and home-brewed alcohol, unrecorded consumption, its impact on the community and how to address related issues. This is a difficult issue to assess and will require an innovative approach which is being developed by the Unit of Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

3 Evidence-based interventions
WHO/HQ and SEARO should facilitate exchange of experiences of countries at the global level on prevention of harm from alcohol use. Appropriate evidence-based intervention strategies focusing on adolescents and the community should be developed and shared. Technical support in adaptation of these strategies should be provided.

4 Cross-border issues
Regional coordination to address cross-border issues such as impact of trade treaties, advertising and illicit trade in alcohol products should be supported.

Primary responsibility of other sectors (in collaboration with WHO)

1 Economic issues
Relevant agencies (in collaboration with WHO), should strengthen knowledge on taxation mechanisms, and how a percentage of the tax revenue can be utilized to reduce alcohol-related harm. Member States may consider conducting an economic evaluation of the net impact of the revenue gained vs. the economic loss considering the entire spectrum of harm from alcohol use.

2 Law and enforcement
Relevant agencies (in collaboration with WHO), should assist in a review of the existing legislation in Member States with regard to law and enforcement issues related to alcohol, and best practices in addressing illegal alcohol production and control.

3 Media
Relevant agencies (in collaboration with WHO), should provide technical assistance to Member States to monitor media content related to alcohol and its impact on promoting use. Policies and interventions to minimize the adverse impact of portrayal of alcohol in the media should be developed.

4 Civil Society
Relevant agencies (in collaboration with WHO), should work with and provide support for improving technical capacity of NGOs on reducing alcohol-related harm.

5 Education sector
Relevant agencies (in collaboration with WHO) should provide technical support to improve school-based interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm, within a framework of a comprehensive alcohol control policy.

Full report on symposium can be found on SEARO’s
website:
www.searo.who.int/en/Section1174/Section1199/Section1569.htm