APA – Kigali (Rwanda) – Rwandan minister of Health, Dr Sabin Nsanzimana on Sunday announced that the country is launching a national movement against alcoholism for national security and the well-being of the population, especially among youth.
Latest figures released by Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) show that alcohol consumption in this East African country has increased from 41 percent in 2013 to 48 percent in 2022.
High consumption of tobacco and alcohol by men, resulting in diseases such as lung and liver cancers and cardiovascular problems, is said to be the main reason Mongolian men have a shorter lifespan than women on average.
Dubbed “TunyweLess,” the campaign is aimed at reaching out to people through various means including both social and conventional media, asking them to either stop drinking or drink less.
The campaign’s first promotional video shared on the ministry’s Twitter page features the health minister Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana in a bar, talking to people about the dangers of alcohol.
Estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO) indicate that worldwide, 3 million deaths every year result from harmful use of alcohol. This represents 5.3% of all deaths.
Beyond health consequences, the harmful use of alcohol brings significant social and economic losses to individuals and society at large, it said.
CU/abj/APA