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ICAHRE co-sponsored the 2nd International Conference
on Alcohol and Harm Reduction. The conference was held in Warsaw, Poland, on
August 25-28, 2004. It was a great conference with 200 participants from 35 different
countries. During three days, the participants worked in many interactive sessions on the
development of an action plan. This action plan will be published in the fall of 2004.
For more details click here.
- Read about the first book
published by ICAHRE:
- Alcohol and Harm Reduction, an innovative approach for
countries in transition
-
- During a special event at the 14th International Conference
on the Reduction of Drug Related Harm in Thailand, on April 9, 2003, Ernst Buning (left),
president of ICAHRE, presented the first copy of the book to Dr. Vladimir Poznyak of the
World Health Organisation
On Friday, August 30th, 2002, the International
Coalition on Alcohol and Harm Reduction was officially launched in Recife,
Brazil, during the closing session of the 1st International Conference on Alcohol and Harm Reduction, towards a comprehensive
policy in countries in transition and developing countries.
After launching ICAHRE, from left to
right: Monica Gorgulho (Brazil), Ewa Osiatynska (Poland), Ernst Buning (Netherlands), Ana
Gloria Melcop (Brazil), Bill Stronach (Australia)
Why a coalition?
- Because alcohol is causing substantial harm to individuals
and society
- Because harm reduction strategies are insufficiently
incorporated into traditional alcohol policies
- Because concepts developed in the first world
dont always apply to countries in transition and developing countries
- Because expertise developed in the drug field needs to be
transferred to the alcohol field
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Our mission:
(1) To promote alcohol policies aimed at the reduction of
alcohol related harm, which are:
- pragmatic: based on facts rather than beliefs
- realistic: alcohol consumption is an integral part of many
societies with negative and positive consequences
- non-judgmental: those who have and/or cause alcohol
related problems should not be condemned
- aimed at empowerment: strengthening individual
responsibility along measures based on external control
- inclusive: instead of talking about, individuals
and communities which face alcohol related problems should be actively involved in the
development of policy and interventions
- creating synergy: stimulate co-operation between all stake
holders and respect differences and see these differences as challenges rather than
obstacles
(2) To promote alcohol education, which is honest, based on
facts and aimed at the strengthening personal responsibility.
(3) To urge the alcohol industry to:
- refrain from promoting alcohol to the youth
- refrain from linking alcohol consumption with a successful
image
- include warnings on their products about (1) the risks of
drinking and driving and (2) alcohol consumption during pregnancy
(4) To promote the exchange of information and experience
(5) To stimulate research and evaluation of alcohol harm
reduction interventions, assessment studies of alcohol related harm and to facilitate the
dissemination of the results
(6) To give special attention to the development of alcohol
harm reduction policies and interventions in countries in transition and developing
countries
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What do we do?
- Set up and maintain a network of people who are involved in
the alcohol and harm reduction field, create a database with names, expertise and contact
information on the internet
- Set up and maintain a database with relevant literature,
scientific as well as project description, on the internet
- Publication of an electronic newsletter with information
about alcohol harm reduction policies and interventions and announcements of workshops,
seminars and conferences
- Publication of a website: www.icahre.org
- Organisation of meetings about alcohol and harm reduction,
such as workshops, seminars and International Conferences
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Who can participate?
If you wish to join the coalition, we advise you to
carefully read the mission statement. We expect those who join the coalition to agree with
the mission statement. The coalition aims at
- Practitioners, researchers and policymakers who are actively
involvement in the alcohol field (or wish to do so) and who are interested to contribute
towards policy reform in the alcohol field.
- Those who are directly affected by alcohol related problems
and wish to contribute to the development of innovative approaches to reduce
alcohol-related harm.
Since the coalition wants to keep an independent status, we
can not accept participants who have a formal link with the alcohol industry
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How to join?
Joining the coalition is possible through our website (www.icahre.org) or by sending us an email (info@icahre.org).
The information requested is:
- Name
- Organisation
- Short description of involvement in the alcohol field
- Contact details (including email address)
Note: the information you provide to us will be used in
our database. If you object to that, please make this clear to us.
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How is ICAHRE
organised?
- ICAHRE is a non-profit Foundation (Stichting), based in
Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
- Co-ordination is done by Quest for Quality (Q4Q) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- ICAHRE is affiliated with the International Harm Reduction
Association (IHRA)
- ICAHRE has an International Steering Group (members to be
announced)
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