The devastation caused by alcohol abuse in central Kenya

Alcohol abuse in central Kenya is ravaging the population and the economy.

A section of women in Kenya's Central Province are bearing the consequences of alcohol abuse by the men in their families with a significant rise in the number of broken families, ruined lives and premature death, especially among the male population.

BBC Network Africa's Angela Ng'endo visited the district of Muranga and met some of the women whose lives have been torn apart by alcohol abuse.

Killer brews

Alcoholism in the region often entails the consumption of lethal illicit brews which have dire physical consequence for the drinker.

Just last month an illicit brew killed six people in Nairobi and made others blind.

Angela Ng'endo investigates why people continue with the devastating practice.

New government campaign

In Kenya as a whole, 45 people have died in the past three months after consuming alcohol that has been laced with chemicals to boost its potency - many of them were from central Kenya.

Angela Ng'endo asked Jennifer Kimani of the government's National Campaign Against Drug Abuse, (NACADA) whether policies to prevent the excessive use of alcohol have failed.