Alcohol and Drugs History Society

Coffee or tea in northeast Africa?

The Vancouver Sun here has an informative but confusing article about northeast African caffeinated drinking habits.  The headline refers to former tea-drinkers switching to coffee, something that appears to be happening in big cities with fashionable coffee shops.  The opening paragraph of the article refers to the abandonment by young people of the practice of men (and only men) drinking an Arab-style bitter coffee called kahawa chungu.  The article as a whole discusses the problem of coffee-producing countries where most people drink black tea, a legacy of British colonialism.  Kenyans consume only 3,000 tons of the 50,000 tons of coffee grown in their country.  Ugandans drink only 8,400 tons of the 198,000 tons of coffee grown in their country.  In contrast, Ethiopians (whose only time under colonial rule was briefly under coffee-loving Italians) drink half of the coffee grown in their country.

Does Uganda drink twice as much per capita as the USA?

According to Wikipedia (drawing on World Health Organization statistics), Uganda's per capita consumption of pure alcohol in the highest in the world, while the USA ranks 43rd (and consumes only half as much pure alcohol per capita than does the East African country).

Police abuse alcohol in Uganda

According to a recent report, police and private security guards are the top abusers of alcohol in Uganda. For more, see here.

'Trade Not Aid'

Andrew Rugasira has just secured the first contract ever for an African coffee producer to supply direct to a British supermarket. That's just the start of his plan to revive his battered homeland, he tells The Observer in Uganda.

'Edopesiepe' = man 'one who lies on one side'

News 24 reports that alcoholism among men in Uganda's Iteso tribe has left the tribe's women sexually starved and emotionally neglected, a cabinet minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.

"Men just grip their women tightly in bed without any function. Women are crying that their husbands are either impotent or too weak to produce children," the Daily Monitor newspaper quoted Minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Christine Amongin Aporu, herself an Itesot, as saying.

The Iteso tribe, one of Uganda's biggest with a population of about 1.5 million, dwell in the country's northeastern Teso region and according to tribal leaders heavy consumption of the local brew among men is leading to impotency and domestic violence.

Francis Epetait, a member of parliament from the area, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa : "The men sleep for just eight hours a day and the rest of the time is spent on drinking. It is a serious and unfortunate situation and we are telling people to change their lifestyles."

Itesot women had taken to nicknaming their husbands "edopesiepe", meaning "one who lies on one side", he added.

Local officials in the four districts covering the Teso region have imposed bylaws banning consumption of alcohol before 17:00 and after 22:00 in an effort to address the problem. - Sapa-dpa

Uganda's dubious boozing record

The East African reports (15 August 2005) that last month, the World Health Organisation ranked Uganda the leading consumer of alcohol in the world. Per capita consumption is 19.5 litres, according to the report, closely followed by Luxembourg at 17.54 litres and the Czech Republic at 16.21 litres. The 2004 Global Status Report says Ugandans spend $145 million on alcohol annually. Find the full story here.

A hot year for coffee? The signs look good

The Herald Tribune reports (19 March 2005) that a drop in Brazil's coffee exports and a major growth in Asia's coffee industry has put coffee prices at a 5-year high. Read the full story here.

Narcotics Readily Available As Abuse Rises in Tanzania

The East African (Nairobi) reports (14 March 2005) that Tanzania is experiencing an increase in narcotics consumption, the United States warned last week. It attributed the rise to economic liberalisation and an upsurge in tourism, especially in Zanzibar. The new US report on the international narcotics trade implies that use of illegal drugs is growing more quickly in Tanzania than in Kenya or Uganda. Find the full story here.

Coffee Boom in Sembabule

New Vision Kampala reports (2 March 2005) on the agricultural conditions of Uganda's coffee plantations. Find the full story here.

Uganda's Coffee Sparks US Interests

For The Monitor (Kampala), Joseph Olanyo reports (15 February 2005) that new hope for Uganda's coffee lingers in the horizons as the organic coffee project in the western region begins to simmer. Coffee investors from the United States are targeting Uganda's coffee grown in an environmental friendly manner. Also known as shade coffee grown mostly in the mountainous areas of Rwenzori and Kisoro, the coffee has a big potential niche in the US market.