OnTap Magazine

The 9th of September is globally recognized as World Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Day, and for the past few years the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA) has partnered with the Department of Social Development (DSD) in working towards an FASD-free country through their national 9-9-9 campaign.  FASD results in significant birth defects and developmental disabilities. South Africa unfortunately has the highest rate of FASD in the world.  The 9-9-9 campaign educates South African women on the dangers of drinking while pregnant. Deputy Minister of Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, along with other officials and stakeholders, traveled across the country in the first 9 days of September, hosting educational events in 9 provinces, and supplyingcommunity centres andorganisations with much-needed information, new infrastructure or help packages. For instance, in Ndwedwe, Kwa-Zulu Natal, a stimulation room was handed to the Esidumbini Community Care Centre to assist with the therapy for children with FASD and other disabilities. It contained a variety of equipment to improve movement and brain function. At the Northern Cape event of the campaign, which was held in Colesberg, pregnant mothers were handed gift baskets containing all necessary baby care products. During the event a pledge was also signed by all the attendees, promising to protect unborn children from the effects of alcohol by not consuming alcohol or seeing to it that those who are pregnant do not drink alcohol. At the community event in Robertson, in the Western Cape, CEO of BASA, Patricia Pillay said: "The 9-9-9 Campaign is close to my heart because it is one of the programs that doesn't just talk and plan things. This is a program that goes into the communities and makes interventions, and the deputy minister will come back and check about what is going on." She also talked on behalf of an alcohol industry that doesn’t avoid the difficult topics, such as alcohol abuse and its effects. "None of us – SAB, Heineken, the craft brewers – ever got up and said, 'We want to make alcohol to make sure people get drunk and abuse their wives'. Nobody did that. Nobody says, 'We want to make alcohol so that people get behind their wheels and kill people on the road. That was never the intention. It is the people who abuse the substance. And as the Beer Association of South Africa, we always promote responsible drinking. We promote drinking in moderation, and choice. We have, for example, Heineken 0.0, we have Castle Light – there are other choices." BASA is a proudpartner in the campaign, whichwill hopefully contribute towards ending FASD in our communities. BASA SUPPORTS GOVERNMENT'S FEOTAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS CAMPAIGN 8 | Summer 2023 | ontapmag.co.za