MAMPA 2012

Monitoring Alcohol Marketing in Africa 2012

This publication reports on alcohol marketing in Africa by focusing on alcohol marketing practices in four African countries, namely: Kenya, Malawi, Namibia and Zambia. This report is commissioned by the World Health Organization of the African Region and was supported by the Ministries of Health and WHO counterparts in Kenya, Malawi, Namibia and Zambia.

Data has been collected by NGOs in the participating countries in the year 2012. The data collection included a systematic monitoring exercise in which alcohol marketing practices in various media outlets have been studied as well as a school-based survey in each country.

Themes in alcohol marketing in Kenya, Malawi, Namibia and Zambia mirror the themes encountered in alcohol marketing practices found in other Sub-Saharan African countries (De Bruijn 2011). Attractive elements in alcohol advertising such as linking alcoholic products to a successful lifestyle or national pride can be seen as undesirable from an ethical and public health perspective.

Findings presented in this study are in line with research conducted in more developed countries and suggest a robust impact of alcohol marketing exposure on adolescents‘ drinking behavior across countries. Higher exposure to alcohol marketing is associated with a higher likelihood of (1) starting to drink alcohol at an early age and; (2) being engaged in heavy episodic drinking (binge drinking). The size of the influence of alcohol marketing on alcohol use and the content of the ads suggest a need for policy makers to take action at the national and supranational level to restrict adolescents‘ exposure to alcohol marketing in order to protect a new generation against the harmful consequences of alcohol use.

The report “Monitoring Alcohol Marketing in Africa. Findings from Kenya, Malawi,  Nambia and Zambia (2014)” can be downloaded via this link.

The first MAMPA project has been conducted in the Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda in 2010. The report “Monitoring Alcohol Marketing in Africa. Findings from the Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda (2011)” can be downloaded via this link or click here for more information.

The MAMPA data has been reassessed in the article published by Robaina and colleagues (2016), which can be downloaded via this link.