Stay off booze to prevent diseases, young people told
Young people in Malawi must refrain from alcoholism and drug abuse as one way of preventing incidents of non-communicable diseases, JournAIDS Malawi Executive Director, Christopher Bauti has said.
Bauti was speaking during a Young Politicians Union radio programme, Mphamvu kwa Achinyamata on Trans World Radio
He said alcoholism and drug abuse makes young people susceptible to mental illness or deters treatment of other diseases such as diabetes.
Bauti was one of three studio guests invited to discuss “the role of young people in combating non-communicable diseases.”
“Experts say you must not drink more than 5 beers per sitting, going beyond that amounts to excessive beer drinking (uchidakwa),” Bauti said adding that this practice can lead to difficulty in containing non-communicable diseases.
Non-communicable diseases are those diseases that a patient cannot pass on to a non patient, but often start due to bad life styles or eating habits.
Two members of the Diabetes Association of Malawi, Hilda Binali and Charles Saidi who were the other studio guests gave testimonies of what they have been through as persons suffering from diabetes.
The two said it was rather unfortunate that a lot of attention seem to focus on communicable diseases such as AIDS and Tuberculosis, saying non-communicable diseases were equally proving a menace to the Malawi society.
The three studio guests urged young people to be aware of non-communicable diseases, how they can be prevented and how to manage them when they become patients.
Binali said for most part, non-communicable diseases are preventable through good eating habits with diets that have less fat, salt and sugar as well as regular exercises.
Acording to Said, smocking and excessive beer drinking are also a leading causative agent for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes.
Mpamvu kwa Achinyamata is a weekly bi-lingual YPU radio programme that is co-sponsored by Konrad Adenuer Foundation and Trans World Radio.
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