This voice that has died out: This voice that has died out

A silent drama occurs in the Atacora department. This is the excessive consumption of alcohol which is not of good quality. Despite the struggles and awareness, the phenomenon continues to decimate in the north-west of Benin. The political-administrative and religious authorities are worried.

“Alcohol eats, ruins and kills. It's really terrible. Let it be in Gouandé, With Tante, Materi and Tanguieta of young people lose their lives because of this harmful product”, laments Father Florent Pruli Director of Tanguieta Hospital. An evil confirmed by journalist Flore Nobime, which as part of the project “Surveys on social rights in Benin in 2021: case of water and health », benefiting from the financial and technical support of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Fes) was interested in the subject. Excessive consumption of alcohol, the adulterated sodabi in this case,  she writes “is a health and social drama in Atacora where the ways and means deployed for decades to overcome it have failed” informs the journalist. From the influx of patients “with big bellies filled with ascites, this liquid produced by the liver when it is completely ruined“ causes deaths, the investigation reveals the urgency of action to save lives in this department marked by the increase in juvenile alcoholism, with young people “consumed by alcohol, often in association with hepatitis.

Faced with this silent drama, several decisions are taken by the political-administrative authorities. Awareness sessions are organized to explain the dangers linked to the consumption of the adulterated drink. Other measures such as sales regulations have made it possible to somewhat reduce the marketing of this product.. These initiatives from the prefecture and certain mayors have not yet succeeded in completely stopping the phenomenon., observe your organ in the field. According to the priest of Tantega, attached by us, it is urgent to make strong resolutions to stop the bleeding. “I believe we need to make even tougher resolutions”, urges Hubert Kombieni. The man of God invites everyone to avoid falling into alcohol. In the six municipalities of the Atacora chain (Natitingou, Boukoumbe, Toucountouna, Tanguiéta, Cobly and Matéri) accessibility and lower cost availability of adulterated sodabi combined with other factors such as poverty, ignorance or unemployment plunge populations,

young people in the lead, in alcohol dependence.

Bachir ISSA