Alcohol acquisition and consumption environments in SA and Botswana

Work Package 2 

WP 2

What community-level and cultural factors influence alcohol acquisition/consumption?

Work Package 2 (WP2) explores the community-level and cultural factors that influence how alcohol is acquired and consumed in South Africa and Botswana. It focuses on understanding the everyday environments in which alcohol is bought, sold, and consumed, and how these local contexts shape drinking behaviours and patterns of harm.

This work includes mapping alcohol supply across nine study sites to document the density, type, and distribution of outlets. Through interviews and focus group discussions with vendors, drinkers, and non-drinkers, as well as household surveys and observations of drinking environments, WP2 examines where and how people access alcohol, the social norms surrounding its use, and the factors that influence consumption practices. By describing the local context in depth, this work package provides grounded evidence on how community dynamics and cultural practices interact with the broader alcohol environment.