Fact Check: No, WHO Is Not Proposing Alcohol Ban for Women of Childbearing Age
- A draft Global Alcohol Action Plan for the years 2022 to 2030 did not mention that women of child-bearing age should be banned from consuming alcohol
- Various reports from well-known and trusted media publications, according to the World Health Organization's spokesperson, misrepresented the information
- The WHO's Tarik Jašarević stated that the media reports of the draft were not accurate and that women of child-bearing age and pregnant women were only mentioned once
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The World Health Organization (WHO) published a draft of its Global Alcohol Action Plan for 2022 to 2030 in which it proposed to improve the implementation of the global strategy to bring down the 'harmful use of alcohol'.
Tarik Jašarević, WHO spokesperson, told a well-known media publication that the media reports about the draft are not accurate. Jašarević explained that the current draft of the action plan does not, at all, recommend abstinence of alcohol for women who are of child-bearing age.
A recent report revealed that the organisation counts women between the ages of 15 to 49 years old as being those in a reproductive age group.
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Africa Check reported that the action plan, which is still a draft, will be consulted and revised. So far, it suggests a number of different interventions to reduce the amount of alcohol-related deaths and other issues.
The above includes the possibility of an 'international day or week of awareness on alcohol' in order to shed light on the repercussions of alcohol abuse.
Pregnancy and women of child-bearing age mentioned only once in the draft plan
A report by Poynter stated that the WHO report only mentions both pregnancy and women of child-bearing age once. This was allegedly done to raise awareness and context regarding alcohol-related issues.
The intent was to prevent the start of drinking among children and adolescents by preventing drinking in women of childbearing age and those who are pregnant. This protects those living in need from the pressures of drinking, specifically in communities where there are high levels of alcohol consumption.
Fact checks regarding other issues such as Covid-19 and hospitals
Previously, Briefly News reported that Netcare confirmed that Kingway Hospital was not a Covid-19 red zone. Hospital General Manager Anna Demetriou stated that the notice which was being circulated on social media about the hospital was fake.
Demetriou said in a statement that although the Covid-19 situation in KwaZulu-Natal is fluid, Kingsway did not, at the time, have many Covid-19 positive patients admitted. She added that the few patients they did have in their care were in isolated areas that were specifically designated within the hospital.
She went on to add that the facility has a good track record in terms of treating Covid-19 patients.
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Source: Briefly News
