Check harmful use of alcohol... WHO urges African countries

“The harmful use of alcohol in the African region is rising and the situation will worsen, if appropriate action is not taken to address the problem,” a report transmitted by the WHO Country Office in Banjul warned.

This call was contained in a report by Dr Luis Sambo, WHO Regional Director for Africa, at the 57th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa, in Brazzaville, Congo.

“Episodic or binge is a significant characteristic pattern of consumption in the region,” Dr Sambo said in the report.

According to a 2006 report by a WHO Expert Committee on Problems Related to Alcohol Consumption, the estimated proportion of deaths attributable to alcohol consumption in Africa shows a burden of 2.1% in 2000 and 2.2% in 2002.

Dr Sambo said the estimate shows that several African countries have some of the highest levels of per capital consumption in the world, especially when traditional beverages are included.

Much of the alcohol consumed in the Africa, especially in rural areas and among the urban poor, includes home-made beverages using traditional methods of either fermenting or distilling matted grains, fruits, sugarcane and honey.

“Because these beverages are poorly monitored for quality and strength, consumption may lead to serious health consequences and deaths,” Dr Sambo warned.

Besides the direct effect of intoxication and dependence, harmful use of alcohol is linked with mental and behavioural disorders, gastrointestinal infections, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

The Regional Director added that studies in some African countries have linked alcohol consumption with high-risk sexual behaviour, HIV infection and other sexually-transmitted infections, and reduced adherence to antiretroviral and tuberculosis treatment.

The same studies have also shown that alcohol-related disorders carry a high degree of co-morbidity with other substances such as nicotine dependence and drug use.

“The enormous cost of th harmful use of alcohol in terms of health and social harms cannot be ignored and called for regulation of alcohol consumption,” Dr Sambo said.

He propounded that countries in the region should acknowledge the harmful use of alcohol as an important public health issue, forge a common position on the harmful use of alcohol, conduct national surveys using standardised tools, and make available resources to set up mechanisms to collect, analyse and disseminate data for evidence-based decision making.

While proposing that WHO should prepare a strategy to address the harmful use of alcohol in the Africa, Dr Sambo pledged the organisation’s cooperation with countries for a forthcoming Global Survey on Alcohol and Public Health.

Other proposals contained in the report are the establishment of an observatory for monitoring the harmful use of alcohol and the adoption of evidence based on alcohol policies and agreements on specific issues relevant to regional public health needs, by WHO and its partners.