Youths dying from consumption of poorly brewed alcohol in Sierra Leone

FDID-SL being a youth serving civil society organization, working with urban youths associated with drug and alcohol abuse in Freetown, Bo and Moyamba is disturbed by the recent spate of death of young people due to consumption of improperly brewed alcohols that have proliferated the market with little or no check form the Standards Bureau or the Consumer Protection Agency.

It is with deep heart that FDID-SL observed the Funeral Rites of 16 youths formerly of Sewa Grounds who lost their lives through the consumption of poorly brewed alcohol. It also saddened the Executive Director and all staff members of FDID-SL to similarly observe the burial rites of ten young person’s former of New London in Bo who lost their precious lives through the intake of badly produced alcoholic drinks. These youths totaling 26 were in the prime of life who would have contributed immensely to the development on this nation.

FDID-SL is of the view that the well-being and development of our future leaders should be the concern of not only government but also every well meaning Sierra Leonean. In this vein, we are calling on the consumer Protect Agency and the Standard Bureau all creatures of statute to urgently look into the production and importation of alcoholic drinks. It is our fervent belief that these institutions were created to ensure that the final consumer of goods is protected against bad and poor quality goods. It is today abundantly clear that these agencies are either not functioning or are not just up to the task of protecting consumers.

The recently published United Nations Human Development Index gives life expectancy in Sierra Leone at 48 years. This is no good news comparing this to other nations where life expectancy stands at 80 years. We are of the view that the uncontrolled production and importation of poorly brewed alcohol into our market is partly responsible for the low life expectancy. FDID-SL is of the view that the youths of this country deserve to live a dignified life wherein issues appertaining to their physical well-being are placed at the top of government’s priority list. A nation with an unhealthy youthful population is unarguably doomed to fail as this portion of society forms the nucleus of its working class. Youth were the ones who participated actively in the war and were equally the ones who suffered most. It therefore behooves the government through its established agencies like the Standards Bureau and consumer Protection Agency to ensure that the market is reaped off these poorly brewed alcohols in order to protect the lives of our future leaders.

FDID-SL is kindly appealing to the young people of this nation to refrain from alcohol and drug abuse as it will only lead to their destruction and subsequently undermining national developmental strides.

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