WHO Western Pacific Region endorses Alcohol Control Resolution

Updated 23 October 2025

“Alcohol consumption is a leading cause of death and disability, with a rising burden in some Western Pacific countries, disproportionally affecting young people.” This starting point was outlined when the World Health Organisation (WHO), Western Pacific Region (WPR) discussed alcohol control and adopted a resolution at its Regional Committee Meeting 20-25 October 2025. The Asia Pacific Alcohol Policy Alliance and the South-East Asia Alcohol Policy Alliance have issued a joint statement.

The Regional Committee (RC) is the governing body of the WHO regions. At this year’s WPR RC meeting in Fiji 20-24 October Alcohol control was on the agenda and the delegates from the Member States were “requested to consider for endorsement the draft Accelerating Implementation of the WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022−2030 in the Western Pacific Region.”

The document draws up the background of alcohol consumption and harm in the Western Pacific Region, includes a Plan of work and an Implementation road map, and lists several Acceleration projects that provide practical, high-impact entry points that integrate alcohol control into broader health and development agendas. The document also includes a section on Monitoring and evaluation as well as on the role of the WHO Secretariate in the region.

In the debate on Wednesday 22 October 17 Member States took the floor to support the draft document, commend WHO for presenting the draft, seeking support, and sharing experience with alcohol related initiatives in their countries. There were no objections to the draft. Member States expressed strong commitment to accelerating implementation of the Global alcohol action plan 2022–2030 through coordinated national and regional action. Two civil society organisations, Vital Strategies and Movendi International, also made statements. Ending the debate the Chairperson requested the Rapporteurs to draft an appropriate resolution to be considered the following day.

On Thursday 23 October the Regional Committee meeting endorsed the resolution WPR/RC76.R4 Alcohol control and the Accelerating Implementation of the WHO Global Alcohol Action Plan document. The Resolution starts by “recognizing that alcohol use is a leading risk factor for death and disability in the Western Pacific Region, causing more than 485 000 deaths annually, and that harms done by alcohol fall disproportionately on youth, women, Indigenous peoples and disadvantaged populations, undermining health equity, social well-being and economic development.” It goes on to point to the WHO Best Buy interventions included in the SAFER technical package and express concern “that alcohol remains widely available, relatively affordable and aggressively marketed, including via digital platforms, and that industry interference continues to undermine
and delay evidence-based policy-making.”

Regional alcohol policy alliances’ statement

In a recent joint meeting in Bangkok between the two regional alcohol policy alliances in Asia, Asia Pacific Alcohol Policy Alliance (APAPA) and South-East Asia Alcohol Policy Alliance (SEAAPA), one of the most significant fruits of their labour was a Joint Regional Statement on Reducing and Preventing Alcohol Harms in the Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia Regions. The joint statement expresses the alliances’ support for the WHO’s SAFER Initiative. It further lays out the alliances’ call for policy priorities, decisive action from governments, regional bodies, the WHO, and international organizations to strengthen evidence-based alcohol control policies to protect public health. This statement is relevant for the Member States in their deliberation of the alcohol control agenda. The joint statement has been submitted to the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office.

WPR alcohol campaign

#AlcoholLeavesAMark is a new campaign to strengthen alcohol regulation in the Western Pacific Region recently launched on the region’s website: “By exposing the ripple effects of alcohol use, it seeks to engage policymakers, empower communities, mobilize advocates, strengthen health institutions to support for stronger policies that protect lives and secure a healthier future.”

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