The government of El Salvador has launched a two-year collaboration with The Union to step up its implementation of the WHO FCTC. The strategic partnership aims to expedite reductions in tobacco use by developing a national tobacco control policy, strengthening tobacco control legislation, and promoting tobacco tax reform.
In the first year of the partnership, The Union has assisted the government of El Salvador with the drafting of reform legislation on tobacco taxation and tobacco control, as well as the National Tobacco Control Policy and Implementation Plan, to move the country towards FCTC compliance. Union research into tobacco control interventions provided scientific evidence to promote the amendment process.
El Salvador has made significant advances in tobacco control in recent years, ratifying the WHO FCTC in 2014 and enacting a tobacco control law in 2015. The country was selected for the FCTC 2030 project – an initiative launched last year to support 15 countries to step up implementation of the WHO FCTC – and so accelerate progress toward meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal on health.
The Union is providing technical, financial and legal support through a two-year BI grant with FOSALUD, the Solidarity Fund for Health, a government health agency that leads tobacco control policy in El Salvador.
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
THE PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM TOBACCO INDUSTRY INTERFERENCE IN HEALTH POLICIES WORKING GROUP
The protecting children from tobacco industry interference in health policies working group was established to protect children from tobacco by developing an action plan for creating tobacco-free generations in low- and lower-middle income countries. The group plans to carry out an environmental scan of evidence exposing how the industry uses multiple tactics to deny and undermine the health rights of children.
THE MPOWER RESEARCH WORKING GROUP
The MPOWER research working group worked on several research studies relating to the compliance of various smoke-free laws in India, the potential impact of increased taxation on the prevalence of smoking, and a scoping study of the tobacco industry in India. The group also developed an MPOWER assessment tool to identify research priorities in tobacco control at the country level.