The Government of Rwanda has launched a new chapter in its campaign to tackle alcohol consumption among people, especially the youth, after a recent survey showed a significant increase in alcohol consumption among young people.

Called "TunyweLess", the campaign aims to reach out to people through various means, including social and traditional media, and urge them to either stop drinking or drink less.

"Alcohol ruins your life and leads to various diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease," Health Minister Dr Sabin Nsanzimana is heard warning young drinkers in a bar in a sketch circulating on social media. "Do you think you can drink all those bottles and your health will not be affected?" he asked, before suggesting they stop drinking or at least drink less.

In June, the Rwanda Biomedical Centre's (RBC) 2022 population-based national survey on the prevalence of NCDs risk factors in Rwanda released new findings showing that alcohol consumption in the country has increased from 41 per cent in 2013 to 48 per cent in 2022.

The survey, which aimed to collect data on various risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), involved face-to-face interviews and physical and biochemical measurements of 5,676 people aged 18-69 from all four provinces of Rwanda.

At the launch, the Minister of Health, Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, emphasized the need to reverse the trend of alcohol consumption in Rwanda. He warned that excessive alcohol consumption is linked to NCDs, including certain types of cancer.

The survey further revealed that the frequency of alcohol consumption was higher in men (61.9%) than in women (34.3%) with a significant difference. Among the provinces, the Western province had the highest rate of heavy alcohol drinking.