One in five youths in Guyana may be using alcohol and this is considered to be very high figure, PAHO official Mary Jo Vasquez said at a forum focused on the issue of underage drinking.
Vasquez was speaking at a Ministry of Health/PAHO Alcohol Control Plan Workshop. It was disclosed that the next course of action would be to develop a strategic plan involving a group of committed individuals.
According to Vasquez, Guyana previously did not have any baseline data on the issue, but the Gender, Alcohol and Culture: an International Study (GENACIS) and ER surveys have since been conducted, through an established group and there is now readily available information to work with.
Now, she told this newspaper, a new group consisting of persons interested in this area must be formed to lead Guyanese in the direction it should be headed. “The persons can select themselves but they must have civil consciousness,” Vasquez stated.
She added that the most important thing is getting the message out to the various communities in a way in which they can understand and accept. This plan has not yet been developed and is said to be the next project that will be undertaken.
“We are now looking at access and the law enforcement part and the most important thing is the elements, that is, that we have policies,” she said.
Vasquez said the perception of alcohol needs to be changed as it should be seen as a social problem, just as HIV and dengue fever is recognised. She related that if this is done, drastic change will be seen. “When you have a problem with the dengue, what do you do? You teach people, you make them aware and there are solutions. You strategize and that is what needs to be done in this case as well and that’s what we are going to be doing,” she explained.
One participant had stated that unless a zero tolerance campaign is introduced, then the group will be fighting a lost cause. Another participant countered that alcohol in Guyana is nothing but a part of everyday life and it would be “weird” if no alcohol is served at a function, thus making it difficult to escape of such a culture. Alcohol abuse in interior areas was also highlighted.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy, in his feature address, said that alcohol and its abuse should be seen as health issue with tentacles that “reach out in every facet of our society.”
He noted that the misuse of alcohol is a public problem and therefore should be addressed by various sectors. “No sector is playing the role that it is supposed to play at the level it supposed to play,” he said.
He stated that everyone has a role to play, including all the ministries, non-governmental organisations and faith-based organisations, who have equal, moral and legal responsibility to work with the people they serve, to educate and make them aware.
He said he is of the belief that some alcohol promotions are irresponsible and the corporate entities have failed in terms of their corporate responsibility. “The kind of advertisement that is associated with alcohol promotion is irresponsible… I say so with no apology and without fear. I state a fact,” Ramsammy said, adding that it contributes to the problems we face in the world. “Alcohol misuse has led to terrible impacts on peoples’ lives and their development,” he stated.
