Museveni asks youth to avoid alcohol consumption
Museveni said if young people live recklessly, they may be weakened by alcohol and can contract Sexually Transmitted Diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
Vice President Jessica Alupo, Gen Henry Tumukunde and Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development pose for a photo with youth leaders during the National Youth Council Annual General Meeting at Nsambya Gardens in Kampala on August 11, 2026. (Photo by Juliet Kasirye)
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As young people commemorate International Youth Day, President Yoweri Museveni has urged them to avoid alcohol consumption and promiscuous behaviour if they are to live longer.
Instead of consuming alcohol, Museveni advised young people to engage in sports and exercise in order to remain fit and lead a disciplined life.
Museveni said if young people live recklessly, they may be weakened by alcohol and can contract Sexually Transmitted Diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
“You may be unfit and sickly because you lack exercise. All this will undermine your ability to contribute to your country or sacrifice for it like we did when we had to fight for democracy (during the 1981-86 bush war),” disclosed Museveni.
To make a significant contribution for Uganda, East Africa and Africa, Museveni urged young people to keep their bodies, mind, and spirit in good condition. He said the National Resistance Movement believes that the youth have the potential to make a significant contribution towards national development, if they are healthy, educated, skilled and well-grounded ideologically.
Museveni’s remarks were contained in his speech delivered by the Vice President, Jessica Alupo, during the National Youth Council Annual General Meeting held at Nsambya Gardens in Kampala on Tuesday (August 11) ahead of the International youth Day celebrations (August 12).
Uganda will commemorate the International youth Day celebrations under the theme: Empowering young people for inclusive Wealth Creation and Sustainable Development.
“If you hold bankrupt ideas such as sectarianism, nepotism, gender chauvinism, racism, anarchism, then you become a liability to society. Your youthfulness is a biological advantage because it means that you have more vigour and energy to accomplish tasks,” Museveni said.
According to the National Population and Housing Census 2024, over 73% of Ugandans are below the age of 30. That means three out of every four people in the country are young.
On her part, Alupo advised youth leaders to embrace dialogue as the first mechanism while resolving challenges if they are to succeed in their careers.
“Dialogue, harmony and responsibility are vital values for the youth. Once you remember that, you will realise that the world will be a fair playing field for you throughout your life. While I was in the army, Lt. Gen. (Henry) Tumukunde (now gender minister) was my boss at the Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (now Defence Intelligence and Security), while I was just a second lieutenant. There was harmony between him and everybody in the unit, and because of that harmony, I was able to work with him very freely and comfortably,” Alupo stated.
Addressing youth leaders, the minister of gender (Tumukunde) commended the Government for supporting Uganda’s creatives industry.
“We are confident that this renewed government support will help streamline and professionalise the sector, enhance its productivity and position the creatives industry as one of the major sectors capable of absorbing talented young Ugandans,” observed Tumukunde.
With the right investments, partnerships and policy support, Tumukunde said the creatives industry has the potential to create up to 50,000 new jobs for young people.
According to Tumukunde, there is need to strengthen digital skills, continuously revise curricula to reflect emerging industry needs, support vulnerable youth groups and deepen collaboration between government, employers and the private sector.
“The Government has already made significant investments in human capital development through the presidential skilling hubs, technical and vocational education and training institutions, and various labour market interventions,” explained Tumukunde.
By building on these interventions, Tumukunde said the ministry is advancing strategic partnerships with employers and industry actors to ensure that the skilling programmes translate directly into employment, entrepreneurship and increased productivity.
The State Minister for Youth and Children’s Affairs, Dr Mercy Faith Lakisa, said Uganda’s transformation cannot be achieved by government alone, noting that it requires all young people to be at the centre because they have all the energy, creativity, technology and the ideas to make it work.
“Our responsibility is to ensure that young people are not merely spectators in Uganda's economic transformation. We must expand access to skills, financing, markets, technology and entrepreneurship,” noted Lakisa.
Though the Government has invested in youth economic transformation, the Chairperson of the National Youth Council, Daniel Ongom, said there is need to support and empower the 5.5 million youth who are neither in employment, education nor training.
Ongom said the money invested in youth programmes is not bearing fruits because their livelihoods are not transformed.
“As youth leaders countrywide, we need a budget increment from sh4b to sh10b to be able to follow up these resources that government is releasing for youth. We want to ensure that when this money reaches the youth, they use it to create wealth, and job opportunities for fellow youth,” Ongom emphasised.