By Albert Allotey
Accra, Sept. 25, GNA – Stakeholders in alcohol control in Ghana have adopted 11-point declaration with a call on the government to expedite the passage of the draft National Alcohol Regulations within the next six months.
They made the call through the Ministry of Health, Attorney-General’s Department, and Parliament, while urging adequate allocation of resources for the implementation of the regulations.
The declaration was made at the 3rd high-level stakeholders meeting on Thursday, September 24, 2026, on the implementation of the National Alcohol Policy (NAP).
The meeting was organised by the Ghana Alcohol Policy Alliance (GhanAPA) on the theme: “Expedite the Presentation of the draft Alcohol Control Regulations to Parliament.”
The NAP was launched by the Ministry of Health in 2016, but the delay in presenting the draft National Alcohol Regulations for passage by Parliament has hindered its implementation for the past 10 years.
The declaration recommended to the Ministry of Health to increase excise tax on alcoholic beverages to at least 40 per cent of retail price, index it to inflation annually, and earmark at least 15 per cent of the revenue for prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and for civil society monitoring of the legislation implementation.
It urged the Food and Drugs Authority and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to effectively enforce a comprehensive ban on alcohol advertising from 06:00 hours to 20:00 hours, promotion, and sponsorship, including social media, prohibition of celebrity endorsement, restriction of sales hours, and enforcement of age limit of 23 plus with no sales near schools.
“We commit to strengthen collaboration between WAAPA, ECOWAS-WAHO, WHO AFRO, and the Government to harmonise alcohol control standards across West Africa and share best practices,” the stakeholders declared.
They declared that they were committed to strengthening the National Multisectoral Coordinating Committee on Alcohol Control comprising health, finance, FDA, education, police, civil society organisations (CSOs), academia, and youth groups to oversee implementation, monitoring, and annual reporting.
“We agree to publish an annual scorecard or CSOs shadow report on the implementation of the National Alcohol Policy, led by WAAPA and its Ghana Chapter, and present it to Parliament and the public,” the declaration said.
It stated, “We, the undersigned, pledge our collective commitment to this declaration and call on upon all stakeholders to act with urgency to protect the health of our nation.”
The declaration urged GhanAPA to call for an urgent Technical Committee meeting to designate a core group to push and follow up on the presentation of the draft regulations to Parliament for passage.
The stakeholders urged for proper documentation of all processes and correspondence and escalate challenges to the next higher level when necessary.
The declaration called for the assessment of the National Alcohol Policy (2016) to identify existing gaps, while conducting a comprehensive review of the National Alcohol Policy (2016) to align with current global best practices (SAFER, Best Buys, Ghana Alcohol Action Plan (GAAP).
It urged for the development of rapid implementation plan with a special focus on the regulation.
GNA
Edited by Christabel Addo