Sent on behalf of Dr Gauden Galea,

Director, Division of Noncommunicable Diseases and Promoting Health through the Life-Course

Dear Dr Berdzuli,

For the 67th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, the Regional Office for Europe will present a Progress report on implementation of the European Action Plan to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol 2012–2020. This report describes progress in implementing the action plan (document EUR/RC61/13), as well as the efforts made by the Regional Office to support this implementation. It outlines developments, achievements and reporting requirements in line with the commitments made through the adoption of resolution EUR/RC61/R4 by the 61st session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in 2011. This report was presented to the Twenty-fourth Standing Committee of the Regional Committee for Europe for review and comment, in anticipation of submission to the 67th session of the Regional Committee in September 2017. In the submitted draft, the Regional Office noted that the final report will include the most recent available data on total adult per capita consumption of alcohol by country (1990 to 2016).

Attached please find the most recent available data on total adult per capita consumption of alcohol for your country. These figures have three components: recorded, unrecorded and tourist consumption (a brief description of the methodology and data sources is provided in the annex). Please note, that all years are based on three year averages; this means that the year 2014 will be the average of years 2013, 2014, and 2015. Thus, a value for 2016 could be based on 2015 only, or on 2015 and 2016.

The adult per capita consumption data will also be used for an upcoming report on alcohol-attributable mortality, scheduled to be published in October 2017. In addition to data on alcohol consumption, this report will include key figures on alcohol-related harm and policy developments in Member States. Furthermore, the next Global status report on alcohol and health will be launched in 2018, and all WHO Member States will also be invited later during 2017 to validate the data used in this report.

We are kindly requesting your assistance as the WHO National Counterpart to please nominate an expert in the field of alcohol and health in your country who can be in direct contact with WHO to validate the consumption data and the harm and policy data, which will be submitted later this year. In order to save time, please forward the attached alcohol consumption data to the nominated expert. If we have not received any comments on the consumption data latest 24 July 2017, we expect that the data are acceptable to be used in the upcoming progress report and the new publications.

Later in the year, your country’s nominated expert will be asked to validate the country chapters that will be used by WHO headquarters to produce the Global status report on alcohol and health and by the WHO Regional Office for Europe to produce a report on alcohol-attributable mortality. This process is being closely coordinated with our colleagues in Geneva, and we will ensure there is little to no overlap between these two tasks to reduce the burden to the minimum.

We look forward to receiving your nomination, giving the name, functional title and contact details of the proposed expert, as well as that person’s comments and validation of the attached data. Kindly complete the attached nomination form (Annex 2) and send it to Nina Blinkenberg blinkenbergn@who.int by latest 24 July 2017.

Thank you very much for assisting us with this important task.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Gauden Galea

Director

Division of Noncommunicable Diseases and Promoting Health through the Life-Course

World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

UN City, Marmorvej 51

DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø

Denmark

www.euro.who.int/alcohol