I searched ‘What advice are people who consume or are planning to start consuming alcohol in Nigeria given?’, and here are some of the results that propped up, most of them very disturbing:
i) ‘Solution to drinking problems. The current lack of alcohol policies in Nigeria only serves the interests of alcohol producers to the detriment of public health. Even though alcohol is a...’
ii) ‘World Health Organization (WHO) say di use of alcohol don reduce for Africa and Europe. Di...’ http://www.bbc.com › pidgin › articles
iii) ‘Are young Nigerians drinking too much alcohol? Many young people in Western countries are abstaining from alcohol consumption, but their Nigerian counterparts are adopting lifestyles that valorize alcohol use and heavy drinking rituals. This study explored heavy drinking practices and alcohol-related harms among young Nigerians (students and nonstudents) who use alcohol.’
iv) ‘Is alcohol the most commonly used drug in Nigeria? It has been reported that alcohol is the most commonly used drug in Nigeria characterized by “heavy episodic drinking”. Alcohol consumption by females in Nigeria has been on the increase and this has been associated with civilization, globalization and the expansion of women’s liberation in the country.
v) ‘Is alcohol control a low priority in Nigeria? This is a fall-out of the low priority for alcohol control in Nigeria, unless the issue of poor government funding is addressed strongly and consistently, the possibility of the alcohol policy gaining the required thrust is doubtful. This should be an issue on the agenda at global and national meetings on alcohol control’.
vi) ‘Alcohol is a common feature in social ceremonies in Nigeria, with heavy episodic drinking (HED) as the preferred pattern of consumption. Among drinkers ages 15–19 years, 60.3% report engaging in HED, consuming at least 60 g or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days (World Health Organization [WHO], 2018).’
vii) ‘Many young people in Western countries are abstaining from alcohol consumption, but their Nigerian counterparts are adopting lifestyles that valorize alcohol use and heavy drinking rituals. This study explored heavy drinking practices and alcohol-related harms among young Nigerians (students and nonstudents) who use alcohol.’
These extracts are troubling or should be for Public Health authorities in Nigeria. The Government may be suffering the effect of ‘penny wise, pound foolish’, as it proudly announces the increased revenue from taxing alcohol producers and sellers but fails to directly fight the root causes of and health damage to the population of the increasing alcohol misuse in the country.
It may be a good idea for HIFA, using its country representatives especially in LLMICs like Nigeria, to increase the decibel on its advocacy in countries on this topic (universal access to accurate information on alcohol use).
Joseph Ana.
HIFA Profile: Joseph Ana is the Lead Senior Fellow/Medical Consultant at the Centre for Clinical Governance Research and Patient Safety (CCGR&PS) with Headquarters in Calabar, Nigeria, established by HRI Global (former HRIWA). He is the Country Coordinator for PACK Nigeria (Practical Approach to Care Kit) which is specifically designed to improve clinical competence (improving accuracy of diagnosis and treatment) in primary health care. He is also a Member of the World Health Organisation’s Technical Advisory Group on Integrated Care in primary, emergency, operative, and critical care (TAG-IC2). As the Cross River State Commissioner for Health (2004-2008), Joseph Ana led the introduction of the evidence based, homegrown quality tool, the 12-Pillar Clinical Governance Programme (12-PCGP) in Nigeria, which also suitable for lower-, low-, and middle income countries (LLMIC) with similar weak health sector and system. To ensure sustainability of 12-PCGP, the ‘Department of Clinical Governance, Servicom & e-health’ was established in Cross River State Ministry of Health in 2007. His main interest is in ‘Whole health sector and system strengthening in LLMICs’. He has written six books on the 12-Pillar Clinical Governance Programme, including the TOOLS manual for its Implementation, currently in its 2nd Edition. He served as Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association’s Standing Committee on Clinical Governance (2012-2022), and he won the Association’s ‘Award of Excellence’ on three consecutive occasions for the innovation of 12-PCGP in Nigeria. He served as Chairman, Quality & Performance subcommittee of the Technical Working Group for the implementation of the Nigeria Health Act 2014. He was Member, National Tertiary Health Institutions Standards Committee (NTISC) of the Federal Ministry of Health, 2017-2022. He is the pioneer Secretary General/Trustee-Director of the Charity, NMF (Nigerian Medical Forum UK) which took the BMJ to West Africa in 1995. Joseph is a member of the HIFA Steering Group; the HIFA working group on Community Health Workers, and the Working Group on HIFA-WHO Collaboration (http://www.hifa.org/support/members/joseph-0 http://www.hifa.org/people/steering-group). Email: info AT hri-global.org and jneana AT yahoo.co.uk
