With the country observing Social Development month, Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe is appealing all South Africans not to consume alcohol or sell alcohol to children during the month of October.
The call comes as Tolashe and MEC for Social Development in KwaZulu-Natal, Cynthia Mbali Shinga, will be commemorating World No Alcohol Day on Wednesday, 3 October.
The commemoration will take place at Sweetwaters, uMgungundlovu District, Umsunduzi Local Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal.
The two leaders will use the day to highlight the harms caused by alcohol abuse which affects individuals, families and communities.
The event will be held in partnership with Kwa Zulu Natal Provincial Department of Social Development, SAAPA (Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance) and the Central Drug Authority (CDA).
The day aims to highlight the effects of alcohol abuse, binge drinking amongst South African youth and the negative effect of selling alcohol to children.
World No Alcohol Day was proposed by India during the World Health Assembly in Geneva in 2008, where 193 World Health Organization (WHO) members signed a resolution to reduce alcohol-related harms.
This year's commemoration will be held under the theme: "Say No to alcohol and selling alcohol to minors is a crime".
The theme seeks to raise awareness about the risks associated with alcohol misuse and abuse, and the dangers of selling alcohol to minors which can lead to underage and binge drinking.
Sweetwaters was identified as the place to host the event given its high rate of alcohol abuse, crime and teenage pregnancy.
This community also experienced a tragedy last year when 12 young people abusing alcohol and drugs were burned to death.
The Minister will use this day as one of the targeted outreach programmes during DSD Month, which is held under the theme: "30 years of Democracy, Partnership and Growth: Towards Reigniting the role of the family".
South Africa's alcohol consumption
The department highlighted that alcohol is the most misused legal drug in South Africa, and this has a negative impact on the fabric of many communities, especially children and young people.
South Africa has one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption globally with alcohol consumption per capita in the country having risen over the last 10 years.
The department further highlighted that alcohol use plays a role in about half of all non-natural deaths. It is involved in 75% of homicide cases; 60% of automobile accidents; and 24% of vehicle deaths and injuries.
Minister Tolashe said alcohol is the third-largest contributor to death and disability after unsafe sex/sexually transmitted infections and interpersonal violence, both of which are themselves influenced by alcohol consumption as alcohol affects sexual and violent behaviour.
"Alcohol use has been recognised as a major contributor to the global burden of disease, with an even greater detrimental effect in low- and middle-income countries and people living in poverty. In total, more than 13 million disability-adjusted life years, or 7% of the total disease burden in South Africa, is attributed to alcohol."
She said young people aged 15 to 29 have the greatest burden of disease attributable to alcohol use.
Although, men generally use and abuse alcohol more frequently and experience a greater burden of disease than women, a significant proportion of young women in South Africa are also using alcohol.
Women in disadvantaged communities with comparable alcohol use to men are significantly less likely to obtain treatment. Alcohol use in young women is associated with high rates of multiple comorbidities including risky sexual practices, poor adherence to HIV medications, depression, and intimate partner violence (IPV).
Tolashe cautioned that alcohol use among parents /care givers can have long-standing negative effects on their children and their ability to thrive given their homes are often less organised, routines are more chaotic and maternal adherence to health regimens suffer.
"Alcohol use in young women, results in many children in South Africa born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) which could lead to damage to the fetus among pregnant women. It is for this reason that during September, which is known as FASD (Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) month, the Department of Social Development conducted awareness campaigns in provinces highlighting the dangers of drinking while pregnant," the Minister said.
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Alcohol widely used among young people
Data from the 2016 South African National Demographic and Health Survey has found that at least one in every four young people had consumed alcohol by the ages of 15-19.
"This is the reason the department, towards the commemoration of World No Alcohol Day is having Youth Dialogues to highlight the dangers of binge drinking and that alcohol should not be sold to minors," the Minister said.
South Africa witnessed a tragic incident in Scenery Park, in East London, where 21 young lives were lost at the Enyobeni Tavern.
The loss of lives in Scenery Park demonstrated the risks children are exposed to, exacerbated by the triple challenges of poverty, and unemployment as well as broken family structures, poor parenting, poor morale in communities and a lack of community forums/structures to actively implore preventative measures to protect children from such occurrences.
Coupled with this is the limited implementation and monitoring of government policies that govern access to alcohol to children under 18, and licensing of establishments, said the Minister.
