WHO urges control over alcohol use, patient safety

DHAKA, Aug 25 (Reuters) Consumption of alcohol in Southeast Asia, including predominantly Muslim countries, has nearly doubled in the last decade, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said today.

WHO ended a southeast Asian regional meeting in Dhaka today with calls for control over use of alcohol and improving the safety of patients at health centres.

''The (WHO) committee recognised that the adult per capita alcohol consumption in the region has almost doubled in the last decade, and this impacted negativity on the health of the population ... especially to the poor,'' a WHO statement said.

Health ministers and officials from Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand and East Timor attended the Dhaka meeting that began on August 22.

Reuters RS1703