As its collaboration with the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) continues to grow, WHO/Europe will actively contribute to several sessions at the EASL Congress 2026, taking place on 27–30 May 2026 in Barcelona, Spain.
Building on its strong engagement with screening and brief intervention (SBI) training at the 2025 EASL Congress, WHO/Europe will again deliver SBI training to equip health-care professionals to talk about alcohol use in routine care and provide brief, evidence-based support. Additionally, WHO/Europe will contribute to EASL’s “Love Your Liver” public awareness activities, supporting SBI implementation within the event’s outreach activities.
WHO/Europe will also participate in the EASL Studio event dedicated to the Second Report of the EASL–Lancet Commission on Sustainable Liver Health in Europe, which will examine progress since the Commission’s first report and discuss priorities for advancing liver health across the WHO European Region. During this session, WHO/Europe will highlight policy lessons for strengthening alcohol control and supporting the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations.
A central moment of WHO/Europe’s engagement will be the reconvening of the European Health Alliance on Alcohol (EHAA), launched at the EASL Congress in 2025, which brings together over 25 European medical societies and health professional organizations committed to advancing evidence-based alcohol policy. The Congress provides an important opportunity for EHAA members to meet in person and strengthen collaboration across clinical, research and policy communities. This year’s EHAA session, “Alcohol and the liver: turning clinical evidence into policy action”, will examine how clinical and economic evidence can inform policy responses to alcohol harm in the European Region. The session will highlight the EHAA’s role in bridging science and policy-making and supporting Member States in advancing effective alcohol policies. WHO/Europe will join representatives from the Ministry of Health of Spain and the European Society of Cardiology to discuss the health and economic case for stronger alcohol prevention policies, reflecting the EHAA’s multidisciplinary engagement and the relevance of prevention to the forthcoming European Union Safe Hearts Plan.