Our priorities in action

SAB Ltd have partnered with FASfacts, a local NGO based in South Africa to address the issue of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a set of physical and mental birth defects that result from a mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy. It is the most commonly preventable form of intellectual disability in the world. Most official medical and government guidelines around drinking during pregnancy recommend abstinence or low levels of consumption.

With the support of SAB Ltd, FASfacts work in vulnerable communities in the North and Western Cape of South Africa. These communities suffer the effects of low levels of education and literacy, unsatisfactory housing conditions, poor health and social dislocation. There are also entrenched cultures of alcohol abuse within the communities.

FASfacts programmes are aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of the consequences of drinking while pregnant. Young girls and adult women are taught the risks of drinking alcohol when pregnant, while young boys and adult men are encouraged to support their future girlfriends/wives not to drink during pregnancy. An independent impact assessment found that 82% of those involved said that their knowledge of FAS and the dangers of alcohol abuse had increased.

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