Case example 3: Cameroon

“What is problematic in Cameroon is the high cost of purchasing even one beer a week given the income of an average rural family. When comparing the price of two major beers sold in a rural village in 1983 as a percentage of male and female wages, it was found that the cost of one beer represented 60–84% of women’s and 36–50% of men’s daily wages. Drinking even in these small amounts means that one day’s wages is quickly consumed. The danger is when individuals start forsaking paying children’s school fees because their money is spent on beer. Such individuals are considered disruptive of community life because their negligence impedes others from doing their work or meeting obligations towards friends, association members and kin.

Source: Diduk (1993)”

Source & © WHO  Global Status Report on Alcohol 2004, p.62