Advocates for stricter alcohol control have warned that resistance from the alcohol industry is undermining efforts to curb harmful consumption, with consequences for public health, workforce productivity and government programmes aimed at improving household incomes.
Richard Baguma, the Chairperson of the Executive Board of the Uganda Alcohol Policy Alliance, an NGO, says alcohol abuse is partly undermining the Parish Development Model (PDM), particularly in rural areas, where some beneficiaries fail to use the funds productively.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday ahead of a national conference on alcohol policy scheduled for November, Baguma said government efforts to empower households economically would remain ineffective unless alcohol-related harm was addressed.
Baguma also defended Local Government Minister Balaam Barugahara Ateenyi’s directives issued in August to curb early-morning alcohol consumption, saying the measures were justified by the challenges the minister had observed during his accountability tours in rural communities.
He argued that the directives could have improved workforce productivity and community safety but were opposed by sections of government, raising concerns about the influence of competing interests on alcohol control efforts.
Dr Nazarius Mbona Tumwesigye, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Makerere University School of Public Health, said opposition to the minister’s proposals reflected a broader pattern in which commercial interests were prioritised over public health.
Tumwesigye, who has researched alcohol consumption in Uganda, said resistance from the industry had repeatedly complicated efforts to introduce stronger alcohol control measures.
A 2025 study indicates that alcohol consumption among Ugandan adults aged 18 to 69 increased from 28.5 per cent in 2014 to 31.1 per cent in 2023. Although the increase was 2.6 percentage points, Tumwesigye said even relatively small changes in alcohol consumption could have significant public health consequences, affecting thousands of people through lost productivity, exposure of children to harmful environments and domestic violence.
He added that a separate study comparing alcohol use across 18 African countries ranked Uganda highest in alcohol abuse. The researchers intend to present some of their findings at the forthcoming conference to strengthen calls for policies that better regulate access to alcohol.
Dr Alfred Jatho, Head of Community Cancer Services at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI), said evidence increasingly points to the need for stronger alcohol control measures, arguing that the social and economic costs of harmful consumption outweigh the industry’s commercial benefits.
Jatho said a study whose findings will be presented at the conference estimates the cost of alcohol-related harm at approximately 11 trillion shillings, taking into account its effects on mental health, cancer and road crashes, among other consequences.
He called for all alcoholic beverages to be subjected to consistent regulations and quality controls, regardless of their type, noting that the risk of health complications increases with the amount of alcohol consumed.
Jatho said alcohol has been linked to at least seven types of cancer, including liver and oesophageal cancer, both of which are commonly treated at the Uganda Cancer Institute. He cited global estimates showing that 741,000 new cancer cases were attributable to alcohol consumption in 2020, including cases associated with low levels of consumption.
Jatho said the evidence would be presented to policymakers to support stronger alcohol control policies and raise public awareness about the health risks associated with drinking.
The national alcohol policy conference will be held in November under the theme, “Advancing Alcohol Control: Protecting the Present, Securing the Future.” It is expected to provide a platform for presenting research findings and advancing discussions on measures to reduce harmful alcohol consumption in Uganda-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
