Zambia Approves Implementation Of Alcohol Policy To Curb Abuse

The Zambian government is set to bring in tougher alcohol restrictions after the government approved a new, national policy.

Chief government spokesperson Dora Siliya told a press briefing the policy, approved at a cabinet meeting on Monday, will regulate the intake of alcohol.

Zambians are known to enjoy their beer, with the country’s founding president Kenneth Kaunda having once famously threatened to resign in protest against the high alcohol consumption levels.

However, Ms Siliya said the government was concerned with the effects of alcohol on its people - increasing gender-based violence, loss of employment, "promiscuity" and low birth weight.

“The World Health Organisation (WHO) survey has also shown that Zambian women are the highest consumers of alcohol in the world,” she said - although the most recent figures from WHO do not seem to back this claim up.

She added: “This is a very big challenge because women are considered to be a force to help curb alcoholism and prevent alcohol-related harm in children.”

Though the move by government could be welcomed, enforcement of such laws remains the biggest challenge with bars mostly opening and closing beyond their stipulated times.

There are also concerns whether the government will ban the brewing of popular illicit traditional beers whose alcohol contents are unknown.





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