West African Alcohol Policy Alliance (WAAPA) Holds 3-Day Annual General Meeting (AGM) to Strengthen Regional Collaboration on Alcohol Policy
The West African Alcohol Policy Alliance (WAAPA) successfully held its 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM) over a three-day period, bringing together national alliances and partner to reflect on progress, share experiences and plan the way forward in alcohol policy advocacy and legislation implementations in West Africa and beyond.
The meeting served as a vital platform for member countries to present updates on their national level interventions, policy progress and advocacy strategies. Highlights included Liberia and Sierra Leone’s progress on the implementation of their National Alcohol Policy, intensified public awareness campaigns across the region and enhanced partnerships with government and civil society stakeholders.
A key milestone of the AGM was the formal adoption of three important policy documents:
- Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment (SEAH) Policy
- Gender and Diversity Policy
- Non-Engagement Policy and Declaration of Affiliation Policy
These policies reinforce WAAPA’s commitment to integrity, transparency and inclusivity in all aspects of its operations.
The meeting also included a robust discussion on the independence of National Alcohol Policy Alliances (NAPAs). It was clarified that while NAPAs are independently run in their respective countries, their autonomy ends at the point of WAAPA membership, meaning they are not autonomous in the context of the regional alliance. This reaffirmed WAAPA’s position as a unified regional body with coordination governance, while still recognizing national efforts under a shared vision.
In addition, the AGM provided a platform to review, discuss and adopted the 2025 Programme of Work (PoW) as aligned with WAAPA’s 5-Year Strategic Plan to ensure alignment with regional priorities and global developments. The PoW focused on strategic objectives with key advocacy and capacity-building actions for the year ahead for both National Alcohol Policy Alliances (NAPA) and the regional body (WAAPA).
A notable session was led by Dr Eva Braaten from FORUT, presented on the sustainability of WAAPA using the Organizational Capacity Assessment Process (OCAP) tool. This evaluation helped identify organizational strengths and areas that require reinforcement to ensure long-term impact.
The AGM participants also joined the FORUT webinar titled “The Norwegian Oil Fund: Pursuing Profit at the Expense of Public Health?” which included the launch of a new report on the fund’s invested into harmful industries. This webinar deepened members’ understanding of global economic forces undermining public health efforts and reinforced the importance of independent, health-focused alcohol policies in the region.
Additionally, members were trained on the ADD Scales, as standardized tool used to measure the quality and comprehensiveness of National Alcohol Policies and Legislations. This training will support national alliances in conducting policy reviews and advocating for stronger, evidence-based National Alcohol Policies and Legislations in the region.
To strengthen governance and operational efficiency, several committees were formed during the AGM to review the WAAPA Constitution, Code of Conduct, Anti-corruption Policy, Operational and Governance policies and Disciplinary committee.
WAAPA reaffirmed its commitment to protecting public health through evidence-based alcohol policies, regional collaboration and sustained advocacy. As the alliance continues to grow, it remains evident that WAAPA is dedicated to creating an enabling environment for national alliances and partners to thrive in the shared goal of protecting public health by the development of evidence based national alcohol policies and legislations to reduce alcohol-related harm across West Africa.
