This is the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance

In November 2012, delegates from civil society organisations working in various capacities on alcohol met in Johannesburg to build a platform for collaboration on alcohol-related issues. The delegates represented civil society organizations from seven countries in the region, as well as NGOs from Kenya, Sierra Leone, Sweden and Norway.

The Forum allowed delegates to exchange experiences from policy and prevention work and to discuss a closer regional collaboration. These discussions led to the formation of the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance, which is affiliated to the Global Alcohol Policy Alliance (GAPA).

The SAAPA web site: http://saapa.net

The alliance has the following objectives:

To share knowledge and experiences of alcohol policy development;

To share research and strategy on alcohol policy development ;

To respond to local challenges with appropriate policy interventions;

To identify common policies that can be lobbied for in all countries in the region;

To lobby as a regional block at the global level.

    New SAAPA Board elected

The November meeting elected a board for the new alliance. The members of the Board are seen at the picture to the right. Savera Kalideen from Soul City in South Africa became the first chair while Lovemore Mughandira from Blue Cross Namibia was elected secretary of the board. Other members are Nelson Zakeyu, Drug Fight Malawi; Jonas Ngulube, YMCA Zambia, Fanjanirina Holiarisoa, Blue Cross Madagascar; Mphonyane Mofokeng, Anti Drug Abuse Association of Lesotho and Smart Kachipare, Blue Cross Botswana.

The SAAPA board would like to broaden participation in the alliance and therefore invites all civil society organisations in the SADC region who are working directly on alcohol, or those whose work is affected by alcohol, to join SAAPA.

- It is critical that civil society is actively involved in alcohol policy development as this is the only way that our concerns and views will be represented in these policies, says SAAPA chair Savera Kalideen. - Please contact any of the board members listed below to join SAAPA or to get more information on the alliance.

The contact details of the board members are:

Chair: Savera Kalideen, Soul City, South Africa, savera@soulcity.org.za

Secretary: Lovemore Mughandira, Blue Cross Namibia, mughandira@yahoo.com

Nelson Zakeyu, Drug Fight Malawi, drugfightmw@yahoo.com

Jonas Ngulube, YMCA, Zambia, jonas@zambiaymca.org

Fanjanirina Holiarisoa, Blue Cross Madagascar, fanjanirinaholiarisoa@yahoo.fr

Mphonyane Mofokeng, Anti Drug Abuse Association of Lesotho, mphonyane@tlmail.co.ls

Smart Kachipare, Blue Cross Botswana, kachipare@hotmail.com  

The Regional Forum was organized by the two Norwegian NGOs FORUT and Blue Cross together with The Global Alcohol Policy Alliance. Co-sponsors were the WHO Regional Office for Africa, The Medical Research Council of South Africa, International Blue Cross (IFBC) and The African Journal of Drug and Alcohol Studies