A non-governmental organization, the New Nigeria Foundation has called on government at all levels to ban the sales of alcohol to pregnant women and minors with a view to reducing maternal mortality rate in the society.

Deputy Director, Programmes of the New Nigeria Foundation, Bumni Olatunde made this call on Wednesday, August 2, 2023 in Port Harcourt during a Round-Table Discussion with journalists.

Olatunde, who explained that the event, which aims at ‘Promoting Responsible Beverage Service’ in the Media, is an initiative of International Breweries Plc, said the focus is on controlling the harmful intake of alcohol.

“Sales of alcohol to pregnant women should be discouraged. This is because anytime a pregnant women drinks alcohol, it goes directly to the baby through the umbilical cord and this leads to various developmental defect on the baby.”

“So, if we want to save the life of the unborn baby, we discourage sales and services to them and also to the minors in the society. Maybe we should even start with enforcement of the sanctions we already have, we should start to enforce it.”

On his part, Senior Manager, Partnerships of the New Nigeria Foundation, Fred Nwogu harped on the need for bars, hotels and restaurants to come up with in-house policies that prohibit sales of alcohol to pregnant women and minors through the Local Government Liquor Licensing Law and its enforcement.

He said if gotten right, harmful alcohol in-take, overconsumption and binge drinking will reduce minimally reduce in the society.

“Beer brings people together and has been part of cultures and communities for centuries. Beer drinking takes place during special moments and events to celebrate, enjoy and have fun with friends. However, beer contains alcohol which can become harmful to the body when over consumed.”

“The harmful use of alcohol is an old and complex problem, but together we all can help solve it. For many years, IB Plc has been committed to producing, marketing and selling its products responsibly and is willing to do more.”

Earlier during the launch of the Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) programme, aimed at reducing the harmful effects of alcohol in the society in Rivers State, Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, International Breweries Plc, Temitope Oguntokun said the vision is to spread the responsible drinking message across Nigeria in the coming years.

“Over the years, with more than 20 million beneficiaries, we have reinforced our commitment to reducing the harmful use of alcohol in Nigeria.”

“In partnership with relevant stakeholders – thanks to partners like the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the Beer Sectoral Group (BSG); through our road shows, billboard deployments, radio sensitisation, and other enlightenment programmes we have championed the cause of reducing the harmful use of alcohol.”

“After a successful outing in Lagos where we first launched our Responsible Beverage Service with over 10,000 beneficiaries, we are proud to be launching the programme in Rivers State where we hope to record even more success.”

“A key component of the RBS program will be the training of owners and managers of bars and alcohol sales outlets, alcohol service staff, and event center managers working in alcohol sales outlets.”

“Community champions and health workers will also be trained in the provision of alcohol health literacy to pregnant women.”

The sensitization on non-sales of alcohol to pregnant women and minor was also taken to various hotels and bar owners and their sales representatives in Port Harcourt.