Rising against alcohol harm: So near yet so far for Uganda

For the last three decades, World Health Organisation (WHO) surveys have classified Uganda among the leading alcohol consumers, globally. Besides the widespread hazardous crude alcohol, greedy businessmen introduced alcohol packed in small polythene bags (as low as 25mls) and costing just 6 to 25 cents of US dollars to target low income earners who make up the bulk of the population. The wide accessibility and affordability of these alcohol sachets – highly toxic spirits (40-45%) – became a growing concern for sustainable development as it increasingly lured young people into alcohol use and escalated alcohol- related problems. In this article I’d like to highlight the state of the alcohol policy development in my country, Uganda and discuss the efforts behind recent progress made. I’d also like to offer insights into the next steps of alcohol policy formulation and implementation.