BARD AI
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- Jul 24, 2018
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Kwa mujibu wa Wizara ya Afya kupitia Idara ya Afya ya Akili, waliobainika kuwa kwenye hali hiyo ni Vijana wenye miaka kati ya 15 na kuendelea ambao wanakabiliwa na tatizo la Kushindwa Kuacha au Kudhibiti Matumizi ya Pombe (AUD) licha ya kupata matokeo mabaya kijamii, kazini au kiafya.
Tume ya Afya ya Akili na Udhibiti wa Matumizi wa Dawa za Kulevya imeeleza kuwa utafiti wake umeonesha 60% ya Wananchi wanatumia Pombe huku 40% wakitumia Pombe kila siku na 7.4% tayari wamefikia hatua ya kuhitaji Matibabu ya haraka.
Ripoti ya hivi karibuni ya Shirika la Afya Duniani (WHO) imeitaja Uganda kuongoza kwa matumizi ya Pombe barani Afrika ambapo kwa Wastani kila mnywaji anatumia Lita 12.21, ikifuatiwa na Seychelles Lita 11.99 na Tanzania Lita 10.36.
Makadirio ya WHO yanaonesha takriban vifo Milioni 3 (Sawa na 5.3 ya Vifo vyote) vinavyotokea duniani kote kila mwaka husababishwa na matumizi makubwa ya Pombe ambapo Wanaume wanaofariki kutokana na Ulevi ni 7.7% na Wanawake ni 2.6%.
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At least 1.2 million Ugandans aged 15 years and above are struggling with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), the Division of Mental Health at the country's Health Ministry has indicated.
According to scientists, AUD is a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational or health consequences.
Dr Hafsa Lukwata, the assistant commissioner for Mental Health and Control of Substance Abuse at the Ministry, said the sufferers need care so that they can be productive.
“We are also seeing an increasing rate of people with alcohol use disorders. We have found that over 60 percent of Ugandans are using alcohol. I have been told that 40 percent of the population are taking alcohol daily,” she said.
Dr Lukwata further said that as a result of the increasing consumption of alcohol, there are those who need rehabilitation or treatment.
“We are also seeing that 7.4 percent of people have alcohol use disorder, meaning they have become so terrible that they need care. They cannot function without alcohol, they cannot do anything without taking alcohol,” she said.
“Uganda has the highest prevalence of people who are using alcohol (in Africa) and of course that is not good for our development,” she added.
World Health Organisation (WHO) said in August that Ugandans currently consume more than 12 litres of pure alcohol yearly per capita.
Less than 50 percent of the population currently consumes alcohol, meaning that the few who do drink are drinking too much; a challenge that WHO said “demands immediate action.”
WHO also noted the per capita consumption of alcohol “is much higher than the African region average of 6.3 liters, and the global average of 6.18 liters per person per year reflected in the WHO global status report on alcohol and health, 2018.”
A recent study in Mbale, which the Health Ministry said mirrors what is happening in other parts of the country, found that 25 percent of children aged six to 13 were using alcohol. Dr Joyce Nalugya-Sserunjogi, a psychiatrist at Makerere University College of Health Sciences, said both girls and boys are drinking almost at the same rate.
Dr Lukwata on the other hand blamed the high consumption on weak alcohol control laws and high stress levels in the population. She said the alcohol and drug units in Butabika Hospital and other regional referrals hospitals are either full or overwhelmed with those coming for care.
THE EASTAFRICAN/Health Ministry
