Underage drinking is a social ill that deeply affects our communities and stealing the future of young people. According to Aware.Org, Research indicates that about 19.9% of young participants claim to have had their first drink at the age of 13, highlighting the prevalence of alcohol use in communities and the ease of access to alcohol in South Africa. Many of these young people are engaging in binge drinking.According to the 2021 SACENDU report, alcohol was the primary substance of abuse for 1–10% of people under the age of 20 admitted to treatment facilities.

Given this backdrop, we wanted to have a conversation surrounding what interventions need to be made in addressing the lack of support in rehabilitation programmes as well as aftercare programmes. 

Guest: Mokebe Thulo - Head of brand AWARE.org

Guest: Adrie Vermeulen, National Coordinator at South African National Council on Alcoholism (SANCA)