Xavier Radio Ug News 24 7
By Kabuye Ronald
The Uganda Alcohol Policy Alliance (UAPA) has renewed its call for the enactment of the Alcohol Control Bill following the release of a baseline study that reveals alarming evidence about the impact of alcohol consumption in both urban and rural areas of Uganda.
Speaking during the Alcohol Baseline Study validation meeting held at Fairway Hotel in Kampala, UAPA Chairperson Juliet Namukasa said the proposed law is long overdue, citing the extensive harm alcohol poses to public health and national development.
“The bill is very relevant and long overdue given the harm alcohol causes to public and national development. It negatively affects 15 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals,” Namukasa said.
She noted that alcohol disproportionately affects vulnerable groups, including the poor, children, youth, and women. According to her, alcohol is readily available across the country, with some brewed in homes and others sold cheaply despite having high alcohol content of up to 40 percent.
“This widespread availability impacts health, education, and economic development. We are committed to presenting the statistics we are uncovering about alcohol use in Uganda and will soon petition Parliament for an Alcohol Control law. Without a law, we are witnessing increasing non-communicable diseases, teenage pregnancies, school dropouts, domestic violence, and low productivity,” she said.
Namukasa added that although alcohol generates tax revenue, the earnings do not adequately cover the social and health costs, particularly for individuals suffering from alcohol use disorders who often cannot afford treatment.
Bishop Andrew Lugolobi, representing the Inter Religious Council of Uganda (IRCU), urged the incoming 12th Parliament to prioritize and pass the Alcohol Control Bill into law. He emphasized the heavy burden alcohol places on the country, especially among young people who constitute 78 percent of Uganda’s population.
“Offices close, but bars operate 24 hours a day. We see rising road accidents, domestic violence, moral decay, and broken communities. There is urgent need for an intervention that regulates production, drinking hours, and accessibility,” Bishop Lugolobi said.
He warned that failing to properly guide the country’s youthful population could have devastating consequences for national development.
Dr. Rogers Kasirye, lead consultant of the baseline study conducted by UAPA, said Uganda faces a severe and growing burden of alcohol-related harm rooted in a highly permissive alcohol environment. He noted that alcohol is widely available, affordable, aggressively marketed, and weakly regulated in both rural and urban areas.
Formal alcohol products, he explained, coexist with a large illicit and unrecorded market, including traditional brews and high-strength spirits that dominate consumption in many communities. Although licensing systems, age restrictions, and marketing controls exist, enforcement remains inconsistent, particularly at the sub-national level.
Dr. Kasirye further observed that Uganda’s alcohol policy framework is fragmented across various sector-specific laws, ministerial regulations, and local government bylaws, with no comprehensive National Alcohol Control Act in place. This fragmentation, he said, weakens accountability and limits coordinated action across sectors such as health, trade, transport, law enforcement, and social protection.
“Evidence from the UAPA baseline confirms that alcohol misuse in Uganda is not driven by individual behaviour alone, but by structural conditions—high availability, aggressive marketing, weak enforcement, and social norms that normalize harmful drinking,” Dr. Kasirye said.
He added that alcohol-related harm imposes a substantial economic burden on the country, conservatively estimated at between 2.0 and 3.4 percent of GDP annually (UGX 8–14 trillion). These costs include healthcare expenses, road traffic injuries, productivity losses, crime, and social welfare expenditures. According to the study, these costs exceed alcohol tax revenues collected by the Uganda Revenue Authority, resulting in a net fiscal loss for the state.
The baseline study recommends several key measures, including:
Enacting a comprehensive National Alcohol Control Act aligned with the WHO SAFER initiative.Strengthening inter-ministerial coordination through a high-level alcohol control mechanism with clear mandates and accountability.Restricting alcohol marketing, advertising, and sponsorship, particularly in youth-oriented spaces and digital platforms.Reducing physical availability through outlet density controls, zoning restrictions, and stricter enforcement of trading hours.Strengthening drink-driving countermeasures, including lowering blood alcohol concentration limits and expanding random breath testing.Integrating alcohol screening and brief interventions into primary healthcare and community services.Adopting public health approaches to address illicit alcohol production while providing alternative livelihoods.
The study concludes that alcohol-related harm in Uganda constitutes a public health crisis, a social justice issue, and a significant development constraint driven by modifiable policy and environmental factors. It emphasizes that stronger alcohol control measures are both cost-effective and fiscally responsible.
By taking decisive action, the report states, Uganda can safeguard its young population, reduce preventable harm, and secure a healthier and more productive future.
