Alcohol and drug problems
For many, consuming alcohol may seem an easy way to cope with everyday problems. That view is certainly reinforced by images in alcohol promotions that hammer home the notion that alcohol offers a taste of luxury, recreation, and entrée into a world free of everyday worries. Not so apparent are the myriad health and other problems created by alcohol use that impose additional burdens on poor people, generate substantial problems for society, and become onerous stumbling blocks for development.
First African KBS meeting for alcohol researchers held in Uganda
"The price we are paying for the drinking culture in Africa today is that we loose many of our young people", said Professor Isidore Obot (Nigeria) in his overview of the African situation at the KBS meeting in Kampala, Uganda.
Forum Syd Sweden addresses alcohol and development
Alcohol is now recognised as a strategic development issue in Forum Syd, Sweden, according to a decision taken in the general assembly of the Forum. – A decision of great importance, comments Per-Åke Andersson from IOGT-NTO in Sweden.
WHO report:
Alcohol use is global health risk factor no three
WHO has released the new estimates on the Global Health Risks, based on the Global Burden of Disease figures from 2004. Alcohol use is risk factor number eight for mortality in the world and the third risk factor for burden of disease.
Diyanath Samarasinghe:
UNRECORDED ALCOHOL
This paper by Professor Diyanath Samarasinghe at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, gives an introduction to how the problem of unrecorded alcohol consumption can be understood and how it can be addressed; by communities, governments and NGOs.
Diyanath Samarasinghe:
ALCOHOL AND POVERTY: some connections
Three papers by professor Diyanath Samarasinghe explore various aspect of alcohol in a development setting. Here he explores the complex connections between alcohol and poverty.
Swedish Radio examines an emerging alcohol market - in the third world
Two journalists of the Swedish radio documentary "Kaliber" visited Malawi and filed a report about those who experience the alcohol problems first hand, and the industry representative that think there is no alochol problem in the country.
World Bank: New estimates of global poverty
The World Bank has released new data on global poverty. There are more poor people – extremely poor people - and the incidence of poverty reaches farther into middle-income countries, says the report.
New study on alcohol's role in chronic poverty in Uganda
Drinking into deeper poverty
An on-going study by the Development Research And Training in Uganda and the International Chronic Poverty Research Centre is exploring the links between excessive alcohol consumption and poverty. A first result is a Policy Brief aimed for a cross-section of development practitioners and policy makers.
World Health Assembly set to discuss alcohol
The Health ministers from all over the world will discuss the health burden of alcohol in the forthcoming World Health Assembly to be held in Geneva 14-23 May. This is the follow up of the WHA resolution 58.26 Public health problems caused by harmful use of alcohol, from 2005, the first WHA resolution exclusively on alcohol since 1983. The documents for the alcohol issue are now available on the WHO site.
Developing countries: PROMISING NEW MARKETS FOR THE ALCOHOL INDUSTRY
In order to develop effective strategies to prevent alcohol-related harm on has to take into account the role of the vested interests behind production and sale of alcohol beverages. One of the key reasons behind increasing alcohol consumtion in developing societies is the aggressive marketing, and also the tough lobbying on national governments, from the big beer and liquour producers.
