Govt to enforce ban on alcohol intake by minors

The Minister of public health André Mama Fouda has declared that it has been revealed that 2.5 million deaths recorded each year in this world has been attributed to alcohol abuse on Wednesday in Yaoundé.

In this report, it was stated that 9% of people aged between 19 and 25 years consume alcohol, while Africa recorded a rate of consumption of three litres of pure alcohol per month. These data published by the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised concerns amongst African authorities including Cameroon.

With this problem at hand, the MOH has found the need to institute substantial measures to curb the situation. For that matter, the MOH involved Guinness Cameroon S.A in the launch of the campaign against access to alcohol by minors.

In attendance was the Minister for the advancement of women and the family, Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa, the Secretary of State to assist the Minister of secondary education, Mounouna Foutsou and Executive Director of Guinness Cameroon S.A, Baker Magunda.

Speaking during the ceremony, the MOH said that alcohol has been noted to be a major cause of morbidity among young people, not without the third ranks of the causes of unstable diseases. Thus, he concluded that it is urgent to proceed with the ban on minors to consume alcohol.

To launch a cooperative fight with the Government, Guinness Cameroon S.A, in his capacity as producer and in the light of its social responsibility policy, does not intend to overlook this. They will start on 1 December 2014 till late February 2015, through the national triangle for a vast awareness campaign.

The pilot phase will begin in high schools and colleges in Yaoundé, this among other things, aims to educate youth, parents and educationists, about the dangers of early alcohol consumption, equip the educational community on the effects of alcohol and contribute to the remediation as well as the preservation of public order.