Namibia is facing growing challenges in enforcing alcohol regulations, contributing to widespread availability, harmful drinking patterns, and serious public health risks, according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Alcohol and Health Safer Country Snapshot report reveals that alcohol is being sold through various formal and informal outlets, including illegal shebeens, fuel stations, and residential businesses, often with limited oversight.
“There is no selling of alcohol on Sundays or during public holidays. Enforcement of the Liquor Act is challenging,” the WHO stated in the report, referring to Namibia’s Liquor Act No. 6 of 1998, which limits sales hours and restricts access for minors.
Despite these laws, Namibia records high levels of alcohol consumption,12 litres per capita annually, placing it well above both regional and global averages. The WHO also notes that 12.7% of Namibian adults engage in heavy episodic drinking.
The health impacts are significant.
“In the past year (2023–2024), regional social workers reported 3,420 interventions for alcohol use, ranging from 88 interventions in April 2023 to 1,230 interventions in March 2024,” the report said.
In 2019, there were 1,199 deaths attributed to alcohol, according to the WHO.
In 2023, alcohol-related road traffic fatalities reached 423, while over 2,000 drink-driving arrests were recorded in the 2024–2025 period.
The WHO is calling on Namibia to strengthen enforcement of existing laws, introduce tighter restrictions on alcohol access for minors, and incorporate alcohol-related harm into national health screening protocols.
Finalising the national alcohol control policy and addressing the spread of unregulated homebrews are also highlighted as key priorities.
The findings come as the Ministry of Health and Social Services undertakes a broader review of the country’s tobacco legislation, which includes plans to tighten regulation of hookah (commonly known as hubbly bubbly), e-cigarettes, vapes and alcohol.
