On Friday 23 May 2025, the Law & Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit co-organised an official side event at the 78th World Health Assembly at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. Professor Amandine Garde and Dr Nikhil Gokani (who joined the University of Essex after completing his PhD at the University of Liverpool in 2020) presented the report they have been working on with Movendi International on the potential of human rights-based approaches to the prevention of alcohol-related harm.
Centering Human Rights to Address Alcohol Harm
Their report argues that the use of such approaches provides fresh thinking to address the major power imbalances that have plagued alcohol policy at national, regional and global levels and therefore supports the effective implementation of the WHO Alcohol Global Action Plan.
The event, proposed by Movendi International, was co-sponsored by the governments of Estonia, Latvia, Norway, Slovenia, Lesotho and Sri Lanka; the World Health Organization, Unicef and the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on NCDs; and the World Cancer Research Fund, the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), and the Law & NCD Unit. More information on the event is available on Movendi International’s website.
The 78th World Health Assembly also saw the adoption of a resolution (PDF) calling on Member States to regulate the digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes to protect breast-feeding and promote better infant health. In particular, the resolution called on States to implement the Guidance on regulatory measures aimed at restricting digital marketing of breast-milk substitutes that the World Health Organization had developed with a technical advisory group which included Professor Garde.
Movendi International is a non-governmental organization that actively participates in the World Health Assembly (WHA) and other UN events, advocating for stronger alcohol policies and addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and mental health. It has partnered with the Law & NCD Unit for a decade, through capacity building workshops and other activities.