- In South Africa we have one of the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the world, combined with very risky patterns of drinking. There is an urgent need to raise awareness about the threat of alcohol consumption to development in the Southern African region (Dr. Neo Morojele, picture)

A number of patterns of interaction exist between alcohol use and sexual risk taking. This is one of the findings of the WHO study 'Alcohol Use and Sexual Risk Behaviour: A Cross-Cultural Study in Eight Countries'. This has implications for prevention programmes, both in the alcohol and in the hiv/aids field.

The Health ministers from all over the world will discuss the health burden of alcohol in the forthcoming World Health Assembly to be held in Geneva 14-23 May. This is the follow up of the WHA resolution 58.26 Public health problems caused by harmful use of alcohol, from 2005, the first WHA resolution exclusively on alcohol since 1983. The documents for the alcohol issue are now available on the WHO site.

In order to develop effective strategies to prevent alcohol-related harm on has to take into account the role of the vested interests behind production and sale of alcohol beverages. One of the key reasons behind increasing alcohol consumtion in developing societies is the aggressive marketing, and also the tough lobbying on national governments, from the big beer and liquour producers.

- The new Parliament Act on alcohol and tobacco control is a major breakthrough for public health promotion in Sri Lanka. And just as important, we have experienced how youth of a country can be a powerful force that can be effectively mobilized to take care of public health policies, says Pubudu Sumanasekara, the director of ADIC, the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre in Colombo.

FORUT vil bidra til å bygge opp og styrke motkrefter i sine samarbeidsland mot utbredelse og bruk av rusmidler. Det skjer gjennom å mobilisere politisk vilje til å yte motstand mot en ekspanderende alkoholkapital og begrense forbruket av alkohol og narkotika og dermed redusere skadevirkningene.
Partnerne får faglig og økonomisk støtte for å stimulere og integrere rusperspektiver i sin ordinære virksomhet.
Hele prosjektet dreier seg om lokal kompetanseoppbygging, og den mest sentrale ideen i prosjektet er at partnerorganisasjonen engasjeres, søker lokal kunnskap, arbeider fram forebyggende løsninger og følger opp intensjonene ved å integrere rusforebyggende arbeid i all sin virksomhet.

The American Public Health Alliance (APHA) has urged the World Health Organization to adopt and implement a binding international treaty modelled after the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.