By Politico Staff Writer
The Acting Deputy Director at the Ministry of Social Welfare Bombali District Joseph K. Turay has blamed alcohol as the cause of most accidents and violence in the country.
He made the statement on the 21st of September at the Sierra Leone Alcohol Policy Alliance (SLAPA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at Bombali District Council Conference Hall, Makeni.
Turay said there is a need for an effective regulatory framework to tackle and address the harm it causes in the country. He mentioned that accidents together with violence against children and spouses are mostly a result of the misuse of alcohol.
He, therefore, noted that it is significant to have a National Alcohol Policy.
The Deputy Regional Director Northern Region at the Ministry of Youth Affairs Maada Sepeh P. Sandy said “We cannot wait for the adoption of the alcohol policy before mounting massive sensitization on the details of the policy, SLAPA and other Civil Society Actors need to start the sensitization now”.
According to SLAPA’s National Coordinator Alhassan Jalloh, their institution has been actively working with the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) and other partners at national and district levels.
In addition, he stated that SLAPA has been helping to reduce the harm caused by alcohol through advocacy and mobilization for the development of the National Alcohol Policy this he said is consistent with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol 2010 and the Global Alcohol Action Pan (2022-2030) that the World Health Assembly adopted in May 2022.
The institution annually holds its Annual General Meeting (AGM) to discuss the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities that face the alliance. Since its establishment in 2015.
The Alliance is established in 12 out of the 16 districts of Sierra Leone with functional district chapters and national secretariats which is hosted by the Foundation for Rural and Urban Transformation (FoRUT).
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online (26/09/22)
