In this overview we analyze key alcohol policy issues at EB150. The 150th WHO Executive Board (24 to 29 January 2022) with the WHO global alcohol action plan a key topic of the agenda. We explain what is at stake, why the alcohol action plan matters, what the decision is about, and what they key advocacy messages are. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the action plan and outline how the alcohol industry has attempted to water down the content of the action plan.

EB150 has a packed agenda with 55 items and with 10 sub-items under agenda point 7, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), where the alcohol action plan is included. The alcohol policy agenda item (also known as ‘Annexes’ in reporting documents) can be found under item 7 of EB150, on the political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on the prevention and control of NCDs, see Annex 8, Appendix 1 for the alcohol action plan.

Background: At the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board meeting in February 2020, member states, called for accelerated action on alcohol as a public health priority. A decision was adopted by unanimous consent (EB 146), requesting the WHO and its director-general to develop an action plan (2022-2030) to effectively implement the WHOs Global Alcohol Strategy as a public health priority.

Since then, WHO has conducted an extensive consultation process lasting two years, to develop the global alcohol action plan to accelerate alcohol policy development and implementation as public health priority – an urgent need according to WHO Member States. The consultation process included global and regional engagements with Member States, one informal meeting and web-based consultation with civil society and academia, and – controversially – also the alcohol industry, despite their fundamental conflict of interest....