Uganda leads all African nations in alcohol consumption

By Lakshmi Gandhi-

Uganda continues to hold the dubious honor of leading the entire African continent in alcohol consumption.

The Daily Monitor reports that the average Ugandan drinks nearly five times more alcohol than citizens of other African nations. Researchers at Makerere University have found that Uganda consumes 19 liters of alcohol per capita, while other African countries drink an average of only four liters per person.

In 2005, the World Health Organization named Uganda as the leading consumer of alcohol in the world, followed by Luxembourg and the Czech Republic.

“What amuses us most is that Uganda has fewer people taking alcohol than other nations but those who drink consume a lot,” said Makerere University senior researcher Nazarius Mbona during a press conference. He also noted that 80 percent of the alcohol consumed in the country is produced informally.

Photo by Flickr user xjara69

The researchers also warned that Uganda was suffering from an alcohol-related public health crisis. “In developed world, people drink alcohol for socialisation, but here in Uganda, people drink for toxication,” said Dr. Sheila Ndyanabangi.

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Tags: alcohol, Makerere University, Nazarius Mbona, Uganda

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 at 8:00 pm and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.