Given the significance of alcohol consumption to health, the World Health Organization (WHO) has prioritized continuous monitoring of alcohol consumption, alcohol-related harm and policy responses in its Member States over the last years.
Since 1997, the Management of Substance Abuse team in the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse has been building the Global Alcohol Database and later the Global Information System on Alcohol and Health, providing a reference source of information for global epidemiological surveillance of alcohol use, alcohol-related problems and alcohol policies, based on passive epidemiological surveillance, and by gathering published and fugitive data and information about key aspects of the alcohol situation in WHO Member States.
The Global Information System on Alcohol and Health is overseen by a Steering Committee comprised of representatives from the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (Canada) and the Research Institute for Public Health and Addictions (Switzerland). The financial support from the Valencian Autonomous Government, Spain is gratefully acknowledged.
| Indicators |
For the Global Information System on Alcohol and Health a set of indicators was chosen to assess the most important aspects of the alcohol situation in WHO Member States as they relate to public health. The indicators are grouped into broad categories. Under each broad category there are topics and a number of sub-topics. The broad categories are as follows: |
1. Production and Availability 2. Levels of Consumption 3. Patterns of Consumption 4. Harms and Consequences 5. Economic Aspects 6. Alcohol Control Policies 7. Prevention and Treatment 8. Comparative Risk Assessment |
| Regional information systems |
The Global Information System on Alcohol and Health also serves as the global data repository for WHO regional information systems on alcohol and health. These can be accessed through the WHO regional offices websites, as follows: |
- Regional Office for the Americas: Alcohol - Regional Office for Europe: Alcohol and Drugs - Regional Office for South-East Asia: Alcohol and Substance Abuse - Regional Office for the Western Pacific: Substance Abuse |
| Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health |
The WHO global status reports on alcohol and health are largely based on information from GISAH. Previous reports are the following: |
Global Status Report on Alcohol 2004 Country Profiles: Alcohol 2004 Global Status Report: Alcohol Policy 2004 Country Profiles: Alcohol Policy 2004 Global Status Report: Alcohol and Young People 2001 Global Status Report on Alcohol 1999 ____________________________________________ |
