NPR: Uganda was once ranked as the world's number one consumer of alcoholic beverages. Some Ugandans dispute that distinction, which came from the World Health Organization, but all concede that alcohol is a problem. NPR's Gwen Thompkins traveled to the capital Kampala and reports on the many varieties of potent home brews.
GWEN THOMPKINS: Sheila Ndyanabangi is a medical officer in the nation's Ministry of Health. She says there've been at least 50 deaths this year.
SHEILA NDYANABANGI: People brew in their home. People brew in their garden. People brew in some garage somewhere. And they have no means for testing how much alcohol is in the product they have produced. And then they go on to sell it directly to the people to consume.
THOMPKINS: Ndyanabangi is working on a new alcohol policy to better regulate the entire industry. Beer manufacturers here say that consumption of the local brews is four times what they sell. And local brewers often boost their drinks with beer or marijuana, or the same stuff that goes into race cars at the Indianapolis 500.
NDYANABANGI: Methanol, the alcohol, or alcohol, methanol. And some of them who don't die are blind, and they remained blind.
THOMPKINS: How would you be blind?
NDYANABANGI: Blind in the eyes, the methanol - they pump very high levels of methanol now, so it will kind of kill the optic nerve
THOMPKINS: They came here looking for jobs. And they've ended up in the chaos of this open latrine, doing exactly what they were doing up north. Florence Adong makes her brews in big oil drums.
FLORENCE ADONG: (Through Translator) That it doesn't take me long, because I'm used to it. In a day, I can make two drums, in the morning and in the evening.
THOMPKINS: Moses Musisi says many locals are masterful at making delicious brews, and he should know. As Uganda's first brewmaster, Musisi has a keen palette. He works for a multinational brewing company here.
MOSES MUSISI: You'll also find that there are families who have been brewing for over generations, as well. The knowledge is being passed on from person to person, from one person to another, to the children, like that.
THOMPKINS: Unidentified Man: Take on those lives which seem especially significant to you and leave the rest behind. What is said here, stays here. Please respect the privacy of each person and what they have to say.
THOMPKINS: For NPR News, I'm Gwen Thompkins.
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