We congratulate WHO for supporting 20 countries through the SAFER initiative and commend the UNIATF on NCDs for two crucial reports ahead of the 4th HLM on NCDs. One highlights alcohol taxation’s power in NCD prevention, while the other reveals the failure to integrate alcohol policy into UN Development Cooperation Frameworks.

A Copenhagen Consensus Center study highlights the vast and untapped potential of alcohol policy: it ranked the three alcohol policy best buys and alcohol taxation alone as the second and third most effective NCD interventions among 30 cost-effective measures to achieve the SDGs.

We need the HLM to be a turning point for acceleration of alcohol policy, by:
- Protecting the process and HML itself from alcohol industry interference,
- Mainstreaming alcohol policy, and especially alcohol taxation, at country and UN level, and
- Ensuring ambitious commitments to alcohol policy, and especially alcohol taxation for NCDs prevention.