Alcholism in Kenya

Alcoholism in Kenya

Alcoholism or alcohol dependency, unlike what is commonly thought, is actually a disease characterized by a strong craving to drink alcohol in order to become drunk, a loss of control, and a physical addiction. Alcohol is commonly abused in Kenyan society, especially by the youth. Kenyan authorities and NGOs have expressed a great deal of concern over the issue and plans are underway that are focused on reducing the general alcohol consumption in the country. An example of these undertakings is the Mututho Law, which is a bill that came into effect on November 2010 in order to control alcohol consumption.

There are a number of critical causes to this problem, one of them being poverty. Despite recent massive economical changes in Kenya, the country is still among the world’s top 30 poorest countries, and also despite the huge amount of money spent on alcohol; studies show that at times, the consumption per person might exceed the monthly salary the individual earned. Also, the population is exposed to cheap and illicit brew which in-turn causes an increased level of addiction due to the accessibility and the quality of the alcohol taken. It also causes psychological issues, for example if the sole breadwinner of a household cannot afford the basic necessities. They might resort to directing the available funds to drinking in order to relieve stress.

The media has a big role to play in this situation, with advertisements extremely prevalent in Kenya and little sensitization on the effects. Also, popular Kenyan songs and films being broadcasted have their significance in this phenomena. For example, Keroro, a popular song by a local artist, is in praise of alcohol.

The over-consumption of alcohol has made for poor parent-child relationships. It is proven that most families in Kenya do not have good communication between these two parties, mainly because the parents, mostly African, still hold onto outdated traditions and beliefs which...