Regional Status Report on Alcohol and Health in the Americas 2020

Abstract

This report is designed to complement the WHO’s 2018 Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health by providing greater detail on the current status on alcohol consumption, harms, barriers, and breakthroughs in the Region of the Americas in relation to alcohol’s impact on health and the associated burden of disease. This is the third regional report dedicated to alcohol and health in the Americas. The information provided is based on country responses to the WHO Global Survey on Alcohol and Health, undertaken in 2016, which informed the WHO Global Report of 2018. Data were reviewed and accepted by each country before the publication of the global report and the information used for the regional report largely relies on the global information system on alcohol and health (GISAH) of the WHO. The report provides an update on alcohol consumption in the region and each Member State, trends in consumption over time, alcohol-related harms, and current alcohol policies being implemented in each Member State and to what extent they are in line with the WHO global alcohol strategy and regional plan of action. It provides examples of studies done in the Region that were not reported in the WHO Global Status Report. The report discusses gaps and challenges in reducing the harmful use of alcohol and how countries can reverse current trends in a cost-effective and expedited way, particularly if the WHO SAFER technical package is implemented at the national level.