Alcohol harm impedes progress toward 15 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and negatively affects all health-related SDGs. It drives poverty, inequality, disease, violence, and both economic and environmental harm.

The good news is that alcohol policy solutions are proven tools to catalyze and accelerate sustainable development. The Copenhagen Consensus Center recently ranked the alcohol policy best buys—especially taxation—among the top three most effective interventions to advance the SDGs.

Movendi International calls on Member States to scale up implementation of the WHO-recommended SAFER alcohol policy blue print. Alcohol policy development is a tangible action for countries that yields major returns on investment across SDGs outcomes.

We call on WHO to fully integrate alcohol policy into SDG support across all levels: technical assistance, strategic guidance, and full integration in UN Development Cooperation Frameworks. We also urge WHO and Member States to ensure that the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development makes alcohol taxation the priority it should be.

Now is the time to unlock the catalytic potential of alcohol policy for sustainable development.