Monitoring of national policies related to alcohol consumption and harm reduction (MOPAC)

MOPAC is a three-year project with the aim to support European Union (EU) and WHO collaboration in the monitoring and surveillance of EU and WHO European Region Member States' progress in reducing the harmful use of alcohol. Joint data collection and analysis can be used to assess the implementation of the EU alcohol strategy, the European action plan to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, and the action plan on youth drinking and on heavy episodic drinking of the Committee on National Alcohol Policy and Action (CNAPA action plan).

The project will contribute to the further development of the European Information System on Alcohol and Health (EISAH) and parallel EU Information System on Alcohol and Health (EUSAH). The systems will be expanded to include alcohol policy timelines. 2 surveys will be carried out to monitor alcohol consumption, related harm and policy development. Data will be made accessible in the Global Health Observatory and in reports. Key options for action from global-, regional- and EU-level strategies and action plans, such as alcohol screening and brief interventions, will be promoted.

A strong monitoring system is necessary in order to assess trends in alcohol consumption and related harm, and to track the implementation of action plans/strategies. Regular surveillance detects changes in alcohol-related harm and identifies areas in which countries are excelling and in which further work is needed. Data collection and evaluation can also be used to identify effective and ineffective policy measures, information which can feed into revisions of plans and strategies.

EU and WHO coordination in information gathering and reporting eases the workload for countries and ensures consistency in indicator definitions and key figures. This project extends work from previous projects carried out in 2008–2010 and 2011–2013. Joint work contributes to a wider long-term effort by the EU and WHO to build a single health information system for Europe.

This project receives funding from the EU in the frame of the EU's Health Programme 2014–2020.

Project objectives

Maintain and further develop the current system for monitoring trends in alcohol consumption, harm and policies by conducting 2 surveys.
Further develop the functionalities of the EISAH and EUSAH online information systems.
Publish 2 reports by using the collected data and by involving main actors in the field of alcohol policy.
Enhance the capacity of Member States to contribute to and make use of alcohol information systems, and to implement key aspects of global-, regional- and EU-level strategies and action plans.