Declare alcohol abuse a national disaster to save our youth

This has been another sad week as more than 20 people died from taking illicit brews in Rift Valley. To make it more grave, a Form One student from Uasin Gishu County died while a Form Two student was admitted to hospital in Nyeri County after consuming a toxic brew.

This is the same week we learnt that at least 78 manufacturing lines of alcoholic beverages have been closed down following the scores of deaths occasioned by consumption of drinks laced with methanol.

How these killer brews existed in the first place is an issue that we are yet to hear being addressed by state officers. But maybe it is not surprising that an assistant chief, who is supposed to be dealing with such brews, died in Kapsabet. The brews have not spared provincial administrators, teachers, farmers, boda boda cyclists and parents. Is it not time to declare alcohol a National Disaster and hold a national conversation to save lives?

I work with young people daily and I dare say the death of any youth is one too many. Indeed, the harrowing tales by inebriated young people telling the world they are lucky to be alive and the sight of so many others being carted to their final resting place in coffins is hard to stomach. That illicit brew is knocking down Kenyans like nine-pins in their prime of economic usefulness and of child-bearing age is testament to a nation that has lost its moral and spiritual authority. Serving methanol-laced toxic drinks is unacceptable and calls for intense soul-searching.

Drug and alcohol problems are not confined to particular regions but are widespread and affect many families. In particular, we must encourage young people to participate in activities that will build their lives. We also need to reexamine the role of the reinvigorated Provincial Administration. Are our laws too lenient, such that merchants of death can still literally serve poison without a care beyond the profit motive?

Drug abuse and, in particular, high alcohol consumption among the youth is worrying. With youths constituting the largest portion of the population at 60 per cent, they provide a huge market for alcohol products.

Is there lack of capacity to enforce rules and regulations on the manufacture, quality assurance, distribution and pricing of all manner of alcoholic beverages? Is the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) a toothless bulldog whose officers are paid to attend the occasional press conference and ventilate while villagers mourns?

Who will ensure that the 78 banned brands of alcohol stay banned and off the shelves and drinking dens? What is the veracity of the claims that the KRA is culpable for having sold a poisonous substance that unscrupulous “death-preneurs” have diverted into drinking dens?

In my experience, young people need activities such as sports and economic empowerment to join in nation building and cut down on the idle-time available to imbibe in life-threatening pursuits like binge-drinking.

NACADA estimates that half of all alcohol and drug abusers in Kenya are between 10 and 19 years old. In its strategic plan for 2009 to 2014, it estimates that alcohol and drug abuse is highest among young Kenyan adults between the ages of 15 and 29.

With such statistics, there’s need to protect the youth from drug and alcohol abuse if we want to propel this country in the right direction. This can only be done through programmes that discourage underage drinking and ensuring that youths engage in other more fruitful pursuits.

All leaders must prioritise the fight against substance abuse in their policies and ensure that there are activities and incentives to keep young people off the bottle. We should address why alcohol is becoming cheaper than food.

We must keep the youth engaged through empowerment, education and employment.