Inspiring Change Webinar: Dealing with substance abuse
The third of our new webinar series in collaboration with DGMT
Fri 27 Sep 2024, 12:00 - 13:00
In this webinar we aim to equip social performance practitioners in IPPs and community trusts with the knowledge and insights necessary to make informed investment decisions that will tangibly address the issue of substance abuse in our communities.
Objectives
The issue of substance abuse
Even though less than a third of South Africans consume alcohol, we are a nation of heavy drinkers. This is because more than half of those who drink are ‘binge drinkers’, defined as having more than five standard drinks in one sitting. The South African liquor industry contributes an estimated R68 billion annually to the fiscus – around 3% of the total GDP. But the harmful effects of heavy drinking cost the country much more in both direct and indirect costs. Research 1 2conducted in 2014 illustrates a R277 billion yearly cost through the combined impact of health and welfare expenses and indirect costs, such as productivity losses from absenteeism. Adjusted for inflation, this equates to an annual cost of R433 billion to the South African economy in 2023. In other words, the industry contributes 3% to GDP yet the loss to GDP is 10–12%.
Solutions
We will discuss general approaches to solving these problems and the success factors behind them, and explore practical examples.
The role of funders
We will discuss the principles that funders (IPPs and Community Trusts) need to embrace to effectively support approaches that genuinely work.
Speakers
Aadielah Maker Diedericks
Secretary General | SAAPA SA
Aadielah Maker Diedericks has a Masters in Community Health from UNSW, Sydney; is a public health advocate with experience in developing and producing edutainment and multi-media interventions, training, social mobilisation and campaign management. She has worked in the civil society sector for over 25 years in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, HIV and AIDS, gender and alcohol. She managed the award-winning Soul Buddyz programme and Soul City Phuza Wise campaign.
SAAPA is a platform for civil society organisations across 7 countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe – lobbying for health promoting evidence based alcohol policies and legislation. At regional level, SAAPA focuses on promoting alcohol as a development issue impacting and intersecting other development areas.
Alet Ackermann
Associate and Training Facilitator | Rural Development Support Programme
Alet Ackermann is an Associate and Training Facilitator at RDSP, and a long-standing member of the organisation since 2013. A qualified Analytical Drug and Alcohol Counsellor with more than 22 years of working experience, she holds a Bachelor of Social Work from UNISA and is a registered Social Worker with the South African Council for Social Service Professions (SACSSP). Alet specialises in drug and alcohol counseling and prevention training, excelling in Group Therapy and providing individual psycho-social support. As part of her own consultancy she assists companies with their Employee Assistance Wellness Programmes (EAP) offering counseling services, marketing and monitoring & evaluation.
RDSP was formed out of concern for rural communities expressed by development practitioners working in Cape Town’s urban townships. RDSP identifies fledgling community development activities already taking place in rural areas and support these via skills training and mentoring, thereby building up local rural capacity on a long term and permanent basis.
Adrie Vermeulen
National Coordinator | South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
Adrie Vermeulen is the national coordinator of SANCA National for the past five years. In 2008, she graduated with a Master’s degree in occupational social work from WITS with a distinction for her research dissertation. Adrie started her career at SANCA JHB Society/Phoenix House in 1994 after receiving her degree from the University of Johannesburg (RAU), and she has over 30 years of experience in the field of substance use disorders and addictive behaviours until 2015. Prior to being promoted as national coordinator in 2019, she worked extensively on project development for training and capacity building of the SUD workforce after moving to SANCA National in 2016. Her enthusiasm for this subject and her willingness to impart information and skills are evident in the organization of the Addiction 2023 and 2025 Online International Conferences and in the development of several national training manuals and courses as a subject matter expert. She sits on the advisory board of ITTC/UCT South Africa, chairs the National Coalition of Social Services (NACOSS), and is a member of the steering council of the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) South Africa Chapter. Her motto is that everyone deserves a second chance in life.
SANCA is the nation’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of substance use disorders.
They have 12 inpatient treatment centres and 19 outpatient treatment centres that provide affordable treatment, prevention, and training services of the highest quality.
SANCA exists to see healthy and happy people in families and in communities. Substance abuse destroys the image of a healthy society as it is linked to all other social problems. It is linked to mental well-being and is an indication of how we cope with everyday life pressures.
Zimasa Mpemnyama
Project Lead | Alcohol Harms Reduction
Zimasa Mpemnyama is the Project Lead for the Alcohol Harms Reduction initiative at DGMT, where she oversees the strategic planning and implementation of policy interventions and programmes aimed at reducing the harmful effects of excessive alcohol consumption in South Africa. Her responsibilities include leading research, strategic litigation, stakeholder engagement, and policy advocacy. She also directs the project’s strategic communication efforts, driving public and policymaker awareness.
Prior to her role at DGMT, Zimasa was a Programme Officer for Strategic Communications at Afesis, a development NGO in East London, Eastern Cape focused on improving local governance and service delivery through innovative public participation and community mobilisation. Zimasa has a BSc in Human Physiology and Microbiology and she also holds an Honours degree in Journalism and Media Studies and a Masters in Media Theory and Practice, which gives her a deep understanding of alcohol’s physiological impact, along with the immense power media holds in influencing social perceptions of alcohol.
With over 7 years of experience in community development, social justice, and media and journalism, Zimasa is passionate about advocating for policy reforms that promote healthier communities. DGMT’s Alcohol Harms Reduction Campaign is built on the World Health Organization’s ‘5 Best Buys’ for alcohol policy, which includes stricter regulations on alcohol advertising, pricing strategies to reduce excessive consumption, and improved access to treatment for alcohol dependency.
DGMT initiated the Alcohol Harms Reduction Campaign to raise awareness about the harmful effects of heavy drinking on the South African society and economy. Our fight is not against all alcohol consumption; it is against industry and societal practices that promote excessive drinking. The campaign advocates for policy reforms based on the World Health Organisation’s five ‘best buys’, namely:
– A ban on advertising of alcohol (except at the point of sale, where it should not be visible to those under 18 years).
– Increase the price of alcohol, both through excise taxes and by introducing a minimum price per unit of pure alcohol in liquor products.
– Reduce the legal limit for drinking and driving to a blood alcohol content of 0.02 grams per 100ml of blood or below.
– Reduce the availability of alcohol by limiting the density of liquor outlets, implementing shorter trading hours, and ending the sale of alcohol in larger containers, like 1-litre bottles of beer.
– Intensify the availability of counselling and medically assisted treatment for persons struggling with dependence.
