Drinking into deeper poverty

According to the WHO Global Status report on Alcohol (2004) Uganda is first on the list of per capita consumption of alcohol, with 19,5 liters of pure alcohol per adult (aged 15 years and above). This is the starting point of the June 2007 Policy Brief of the Chronic Poverty Research Centre. By bringing the issue into the public domain the author and editor, Charles Lwanga-Ntale, hope to raise awareness and to invoke action on an issue which has, for long, been only considered to be a private matter for individuals.

The Policy Brief goes on to discuss how excessive alcohol consumption in Uganda is a development issue of "an enormous magnitude". The brief outlines the links between alcohol and poverty, other costs which are asociated with drinking and what existing policies there are. It goes on to discuss the problem that alcohol being an important revenue source for the state may discourage implementing policies to reduce consumption. The brief finally outlines what needs to be done about the problem.

Lwanga-Ntale C: Drinking into deeper poverty: the new frontier for chronic poverty in Uganda. Chronic Poverty Research Centre, Policy Brief No.1/2007, June 2007. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5h3spElUH)

The policy brief is available on the internet from the Chronic Poverty Research Centre web site.
See the Chronic Poverty Research Centre, CPRC Uganda Policy Brief No 1/2007: Drinking into deeper poverty; The new frontier for Chronic Poverty in Uganda (pdf)