WHO/Europe is organizing a 3-day meeting on alcohol control policies in Lithuania, with focus on sharing and discussing success stories from the Baltic countries. The meeting aims to engage a wide audience and is therefore divided into three parts.
The first part of the meeting, scheduled for 17–18 February, will bring together a diverse group of alcohol policy stakeholders. Participants will include members of the EVID-ACTION Member State Focal Points Network, international alcohol researchers and representatives from Lithuanian institutions such as government ministries, universities, health institutes, nongovernmental organizations and professional unions. Youth representatives from the EVID-ACTION Youth Alcohol Network will also join. The focus will be on sharing lessons learned from the Baltic Alcohol Control Policy Project, a research initiative funded by the United States National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Following this, on the morning of 19 February, WHO will host a media conference and session at the Lithuanian parliament on the “Impact of alcohol policies in Lithuania: insights from the Baltic Alcohol Policy Project (2020–2025)”. This high-level session will provide an overview of key insights gained from the project, demonstrating how alcohol control policies – such as taxation, availability and marketing measures – decrease all-cause mortality and reduce inequalities.
Lastly, the meeting will conclude with an afternoon workshop on health taxes on 19 February, with planned participation of representatives of WHO/Europe, WHO headquarters, the World Bank, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and selected members of the Baltic countries’ finance ministries and other key stakeholders.
The language of the meeting will be English.