A Time.com article recently claimed that “Africa has a drinking problem”. Do Africans drink too much? How true is the claim that “Africa” has an alcohol problem
KENYA AND SOUTH AFRICA’S DRINKING PATTERNS
The central focus of the article is on Kenya and, to a much lesser extent, South Africa. Kenya, Time claims, is a country that is “consuming ever more alcohol”. South Africa is described as “one of the world’s heaviest drinking nations” despite the fact that the WHO ranks South Africa in 55th place out of 189 countries. (Kenya lies at 118th. The heaviest drinking nation, according to the data, is Moldova followed by the Czech Republic).
The article includes a quote from a Nairobi social worker.
“Do we drink because we’re Kenyan or are we Kenyan because we drink? Africa is the new darling of multinational beverage companies looking to drive profits in an increasingly booze-saturated world. The continent has the perfect emerging-market conditions: a relatively small amount of commercial alcohol is being consumed; there is a rising middle class with disposable income; a huge market of young people is about to come of age; and there is an informal moonshine sector, up to 4 times the size of the commercial market, that governments would like to control.
But Africa is in no shape to cope with an influx of alcohol. Primary health care providers aren’t equipped to deal with the health effects. There is little or no recourse for irresponsible acts like driving while intoxicated. Chronic corruption means every new control measure is an opportunity for police to solicit bribes. While average per capita consumption figures (excluding South Africa) are very low, Africa has the highest proportion of binge drinkers in the world: 25% of those who drink drink too much, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Read more:
http://world.time.com/20...s-circle/#ixzz2cyOT15bO
http://world.time.com/2013/08/0...e-multinationals-circle/