Alcohol Claims 2.6 Million Lives Annually, New Report Warns
Alcohol consumption continues to claim an estimated 2.6 million lives each year worldwide, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to urge countries to accelerate the implementation of proven policies to reduce alcohol-related harm.
A new WHO report, Implementing What Works in Alcohol Policy: Progress Report on the SAFER Initiative, highlights growing global efforts to strengthen alcohol control while warning that weak enforcement, limited funding and industry interference continue to slow progress.
Launched in 2018 and reinforced under the Global Alcohol Action Plan 2022–2030, the SAFER initiative promotes five evidence-based measures: restricting alcohol availability, enforcing drink-driving countermeasures, expanding screening and treatment services, banning or limiting alcohol marketing, and increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages.
The report shows that several countries are translating these measures into national and community-level action. Uganda, the first country to adopt SAFER as a national platform, has integrated alcohol screening and treatment into primary healthcare while reforming its excise tax laws. In Nepal, the Supreme Court upheld a nationwide ban on alcohol advertising, and local governments have been directed to strengthen alcohol and tobacco control.
Ireland has emerged as a leading example of community implementation through its Building SAFER Communities initiative, launched in 2024. The programme links national alcohol legislation with locally designed interventions across 10 communities, reaching about 190,000 people. Similar initiatives are being piloted in Thailand and the United Kingdom.
Regional cooperation is also expanding. In Africa, the number of countries participating in intercountry learning under SAFER more than doubled from seven in 2023 to 15 in 2025. Across the Americas, nearly 4,800 participants have received training through the Pan American Health Organization, while the Western Pacific became the first WHO region to formally adopt SAFER as its framework for regional collaboration.
The report notes growing support across the United Nations system, with agencies working together to develop a common policy on preventing alcohol harm. However, progress remains uneven. Only nine of 135 UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks adopted between 2020 and 2023 identified alcohol policy as a priority.
WHO says alcohol-related harm is preventable and that the next phase of the SAFER initiative will focus on strengthening governance, improving enforcement and monitoring, securing sustainable financing, and protecting public health policies from commercial influence.
The organization says these measures could help reduce road traffic injuries, hospitalizations and violence while building healthier communities worldwide.
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