International Council on Alcohol and Addictions
Conseil international sur les problèmes de l’ alcoolisme et des toxicomanies
ICAA's 112th Institute on Addictions
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS
DIALOGUE AND DIVERSITY – THE CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS
The following early notification is subject to any limitations imposed by global health and economic issues.
ICAA 112th Institute on Addictions. Atlantic Canada, Province of New Brunswick, September 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 2022
Women in Addiction
In Stockholm in September 2016, in partnership with the Women's Organisations Committee on Alcohol and Drug Issues (WOCAD, Sweden) ICAA delivered a highly successful global Conference "Focus on Women in Addiction in the 2020's". Addressing the gender biased exploitation of women with substance abuse issues this event led to the submission of nine resolutions to the sixtieth session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (2017) for consideration by the member states.
To assess the impact of the UN Resolutions and explore further action the 112th Institute will centre on a follow-up conference addressing the topic of Women and Addiction. This conference will be available for both in-person and virtual participation.
* Please see resolutions below.
NGOs and Civil Society
As a global NGO ICAA is committed to ensuring that NGOs and Civil Society communicate effectively and contribute in full measure to reducing addictive behaviours. In furtherance of this goal and commencing with an invitational Institute (Porto. October 2017) a series of meetings have taken place (London, Den Haag, Reykjavik) to lay the foundations for a global Forum (Think Tank) to identify obstacles to dialogue between concerned stakeholders and to promote change. In furtherance of this work the next ICAA Institute, will include as a major topic the Think Tank as a medium for global communication in addiction prevention.
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Focus on Women in Addiction in the 2020’s
18th-21st September 2016 – Stockholm
The Stockholm Convention in its concluding session agreed on the following resolutions:
(*)The Convention defines discrimination against women as "...any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field."
Submission to WHO Action Plan to Strengthen Implementation of the Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol
December 2020
The International Council on Alcohol and Addictions (ICAA) is dedicated to the prevention and reduction of the harmful use and effects of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, and addictive behaviours on individuals, families, communities, and society.
It sensitises, empowers, and educates organisations and individuals, and advocates for effective partnerships in prevention, treatment, research, and policy development in the interest of public health, personal and social wellbeing at international, regional, and national levels by collaborating with relevant bodies, organising conferences and other activities.
ICAA believes in the exchange of evidence-based knowledge and innovative approaches. It is committed to undertake this in an independent, apolitical, inclusive, democratic, and transparent manner.
ICAA therefore welcomes the WHO initiative to strengthen the implementation of the Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol and its Action Plan to support engagement in Member States. We believe that implementation across countries has been uneven and needs to be strengthened through new resources and their efficient deployment, including through better health coverage.
Cultural differences and norms around drinking do not lend themselves to one-size-fits-all policy approaches. This was recognized in the 2010 Global Strategy. Therefore, we support the creation of an Action Plan that is flexible and not proscriptive, includes options for Member States, and allows implementation as is most appropriate and feasible in specific contexts.
Such a plan must take into consideration:
Where health systems and resources are poor, efforts to strengthen these should be a priority.
Accessibility and availability are recognized as factors influencing consumption. Fiscal measures and restrictions on availability are an important component of the Action Plan. However, they should not be its sole focus. We believe that the best approach to reducing harmful drinking relies on a mix of regulatory measures and interventions aimed at harm reduction through educating the public and raising awareness of healthy lifestyles. Targeted interventions are essential and efforts must be made to improve their assessment and evaluation.
There is wide variation in both drinking patterns and outcomes, both across countries and within them. Sustainable alcohol policies need to take this into account, as well as the key role of social determinants, including poverty, urbanization, and educational level.
Therefore, aggregate measures alone, specifically alcohol consumption per capita, are insufficient to understand alcohol-related harm and implement measures to reduce it. Data collected must also include specific indicators of harmful drinking. WHO’s Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases already lays out appropriate indicators. These include heavy episodic drinking, and alcohol-related mortality and morbidity, in addition to per capita alcohol consumption. Attention is also needed to rate of underage drinking across countries, which are an additional and important indicator. We believe that these should also be included in the Action Plan and make both efforts consistent.
We welcome the strengthening of technical assistance to Member States and emphasis on improved monitoring and surveillance to support the collection of data, which in many countries is poor or entirely lacking.
We encourage the development and use of common rigorous scientific methodologies that will allow comparisons of outcome measurements across countries, regions and contexts.
As the Action Plan acknowledges, significant strides have already been made towards reducing heavy episodic drinking and underage drinking across regions. Strong data collection is needed to ensure that this trend can continue.
Unrecorded alcohol comprises a significant proportion of alcohol consumed around the world and is another important area where data are scant, and improvement is needed. Unrecorded alcohol consumption and trade are directly correlated with restrictions on legal alcohol. Therefore, efforts must be made to avoid an increase in illegal production and sales and proper enforcement of existing regulation should take precedence over the enactment of new measures.
Alcohol-related mortality and morbidity do not occur in a vacuum. They are heavily influenced by socio-cultural conditions, the environmental context, and the degree of enforcement of existing regulations and policies. Therefore, to address harmful drinking, Member States must also address health inequalities and the prevalence of conditions like obesity, mental health problems, and drug abuse.
Attention is also needed to the changing drinking patterns among women, the impact of factors like childbearing age and the number of children, as well as the evolving social and economic status of women in many societies. These can support engagement on reducing harmful drinking, but also broader issues like violence against women and domestic violence, as outlined in the ICAA resolution on women and alcohol [Women in Addiction Resolution].
ICAA would press for greater localization of initiatives targeting populations using interventions based on sound research. Effective prevention and harm reduction strategy must flow from detailed understanding of the factors contributing to alcohol availability, consumption, and associated harms in specific communities, including perceptions and cultural views.
Therefore, we believe that to be successful, the Action Plan must include an equal seat at the table for all stakeholders – governments, NGOs, civil society, and the private sector. It should encourage and foster collaboration.
The Action Plan must also acknowledge the existence of diverse views and perspectives, diverging evidence on the effectiveness of individual measures in different contexts, and the contributions that each stakeholder group can make. This applies both within and outside of the core competencies each brings to the table in the common goal of reducing harmful drinking.
ICAA welcomes the emphasis on implementing the Global Strategy and is committed to encouraging and supporting its stakeholders in pursuit of a balanced and inclusive approach to achieving this goal.