Alcohol, partying, and clubbing. Did I mention alcohol? I think we can all agree that these words might as well be synonyms for Ugandans. If there is one thing that Ugandans are known for internationally, it’s our love for alcohol and the dance floor.

The most famous song to emerge from our country, “Parte after Parte,” and other songs are a testament to how much Ugandans love parting and drinking alcohol. We can vibe from Monday to Monday, year in and year out, and I am not even exaggerating about it.

But, guys, putting the vibes aside, I think we should all agree that there is a huge alcoholism problem in our country, shielded behind the partying culture.

Did you know that currently, alcohol and drug abuse contribute to 40% of all admissions at Butabiika National Referral Mental Hospital? Let’s take a moment to reflect on that. Alcohol is responsible for nearly half of all the admissions at our national mental illness hospital.

I think this issue needs to be handled right at the root, which is the mindset.

In most Ugandan societies, the relationship with alcohol is one that you would expect to have with water. For example, in Teso, babies are given a drop of local brew at their naming ceremonies; in Western Uganda, local waragi is a treatment for cough; and in Karamoja, young men start the day with a jug of locally made alcohol known as “ebutia.” Basically, in our homelands, seeing children sip from a local brew pot is not strange.

That, right there, is the problem. Adults do not believe that alcohol should be regulated and barely make any effort to do so. Those little children grow up thinking that partying and drinking alcohol from Monday to Monday is normal.

Of course there are other factors, like the replacement of counseling, self-reflection,  and grief with alcohol, but this is no excuse; we need to do better.

Even in our close circles, I know we’ve heard friends say things like, “Me, I can drive when I’m high; I’m different; I am a hard guy” or bragging about downing  crates of beer by themselves.

There is a plethora of horrible things that alcohol has done to our society, and we ought to stop wearing our alcoholism as some badge of honour if we want to see change, more so if we want to be mentally stable and if we are to avoid alcohol-related health issues.