Alcohol In Kenya

Substance abuse is a major public health problem worldwide. In Kenya, alcohol consumption has become an important public health concern arising from overconsumption, intoxication and dangerous behaviour upon consumption. It has contributed immensely to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and many premature deaths in Kenya (National Campaign Against Drug Abuse Authority, 2009). Alcohol and substance abuse is an increasing problem in the country and in particular the use of illicit killer brew which has led to many deaths in the all parts of the country, with the government recently calling for a crackdown on illicit brew and all second generation drinks in the country. The coastal region is a major transit hub that has easy access to illicit drugs

Several studies also show that risky sexual behaviour is common among university students (Magu et al., 2012, Mwangi et al., 2014, Mulu et al., 2014, Heeren et al., 2014, Choudhry et al., 2014, Liu et al., 2014, Othieno et al., 2015) exposing themselves to the risk of sexually transmitted infections including HIV infection. Evidence also show that first year undergraduate students are more vulnerable to excessive alcohol consumption due to their limited experience with alcohol and the freedom from the parental restraint for the first time (Osberg et al., 2011).

There are no documented studies on the magnitude of substance abuse and risky sexual behaviour and how the two behaviours change as student’s progress with their studies in public universities in the coastal region of Kenya. The lack of reliable statistics to reveal the magnitude and factors associated with drug abuse and risky sexual behaviour among students in public universities in the coastal region and the effectiveness of alcohol and drugs awareness campaigns on behaviour change need to be

Similarly in another study, 30.5% lifetime use and 17.1% current use of tobacco was reported among students in public universities in Kenya (Magu et al., 2013). Elsewhere studies have shown that acute effects of substance abuse cause one to take sexual risks that otherwise would not have been taken (Berhan et al., 2013).

Risky sexual behaviour is common among university students (Magu et al., 2012, Mwangi et al., 2014, Mulu et al., 2014, Heeren et al., 2014, Choudhry et al., 2014, Liu et al., 2014, Othieno et al., 2015) exposing themselves to the risk of HIV infection. Universities bring together a large number of youths at their peak years of sexual activity and experimentation deprived of any systematic supervision from parents and teachers. This makes campuses a potentially fertile breeding ground for HIV and AIDS (Mwangi et al.,