Implementing intersectoral alcohol policies at the local level in Santiago, Chile, 2014-2017

Background. Local governments have a crucial role to play in alcohol control policies. However, there is a lack of descriptions of comprehensive intersectoral alcohol control strategies led by them. The study describes the experience of developing and implementing an intersectoral alcohol strategy in the Municipality of Santiago, Chile, between 2014-2017.

Methods. We used a case study design. We used data from municipal documents, including reports from fee agreements, official sources of information, municipal service calls and police records, georeferenced data on alcohol outlets and photographs of storefront signs. We used data from interviews with community stakeholders and municipal workers conducted during the study period.

Results. The first stage (2014-2015) consisted of using local evidence to build political will. The main activities were introducing screening and brief alcohol interventions in high schools, supporting a public consultation on reducing the opening hours of liquor stores, and introducing economic incentives to reduce street-level alcohol marketing. The second stage (2015-2017) included a community-action pilot plan and the development and implementation of an intersectoral alcohol control plan involving twelve municipal departments. Activities aimed at reducing the number of alcohol outlets, enhancing transparency on alcohol licensing procedures, and improving the quality of brief interventions. The strategy implemented actions in nine out of ten WHO Alcohol Policy domains.

Conclusions. The experience of Santiago demonstrates the untapped potential for alcohol control at the local level. Political will, local evidence, sharing common goals and medium-term budget frameworks are important facilitators of comprehensive intersectoral alcohol interventions.