News analysis:A world apart(1)
The WHO has not yet determined a course of action to deal with problem drinking, but the issue is now looming large on the global health agenda, writes Ben Grant.
When the World Health Organisation (WHO) held its annual assembly in Geneva last month, the issue of harmful use of alcohol emerged high up the agenda. The gathering had intended to pass a resolution outlining a future direction for tackling problem drinking, but after four days of discussion no consensus was reached. It may be years before the WHO – a body that is not exactly renowned for speedy processes – finally devises an approach which all 193 of its member states agree on. But if and when a coordinated global policy is ultimately proposed, May 2007 will go down in the annals as the time that the wheels were set in motion. Now – more than ever – it is imperative that the trade takes its commitment to responsible consumption seriously and proves to legislators that it can be a trusted partner working alongside lawmakers for a mutually agreeable resolution.
The WHO is a United Nations body charged with devising and implementing global health policy. It is headed up by director general Dr Margaret Chan (who earned the nickname Mrs Avian Flu after her role in overseeing the threat of an epidemic in her native Hong Kong). The health ministries of all 193 member states meet at the week-lokg World Health Assembly each year to discuss key issues and future strategy.
The organisation’s workload includes activities focusing on communicable and non-communicable diseases. The main thrust of the latter is tobacco, food/diet and harmful use of alcohol. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was agreed in 2005 – the document was signed and ratified and is now legally binding for the majority of WHO member states. It is notable that it took the WHO and the member states almost a decade to finally thrash out the terms of the convention – when it entered into force, however, the impact on industry was swift, comprehensive and crushing. While tobacco and alcohol are obviously two very different problems requiring very different solutions, the example of the FCTC makes abundantly clear the potential power of the WHO.
