Ministry of health to re-introduce use of breathalyzers
A traffic police officer checks the blood alcohol content of a man in Kampala recently .Photo/File
What you need to know:
- The 2022 Annual Crime Report by Uganda Police, indicated a 17 percent increase in the number of road crashes reported in 2022 from 17,443 crashes in 2021 to 20,394 crashes in 2022.
The Ministry of Health together with Ministry of Works and Transport, Uganda Police Force and Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) have discussed the re-introduction of the use of breathalyzers.
According to Dr Henry Mwebesa, the Director Health Services at the ministry of health, the measure is to reduce deaths due to road traffic accidents caused by drunk drivers.
“It is against this background therefore that Ministry of Health recommends immediate reintroduction of breathalyzers to test alcohol levels consumed by motorists,” Dr Mwebesa said in the August 11 statement.
Ministry of health had advised against the use of breathalyzers in 2020 due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and for fear that there could be spread of corona virus in the process of using breathalyzers.
“It is sad to note that since then, Uganda has registered an increase in the number of road traffic accidents with 40 percent being fatal,” part of the statement read.
Uganda was ranked first in alcohol consumption by World Health Organisation 2023 report with one Ugandan consuming 12.21 litres of pure alcohol averagely per year.
The report showed that men consume more than women with an average of 19.93 litres of pure alcohol annually compared to 4.88 litres of women.
The 2022 Annual Crime Report by Uganda Police, indicated a 17 percent increase in the number of road crashes reported in 2022 from 17,443 crashes in 2021 to 20,394 crashes in 2022.
