CAPPA insists on increased tax for sugar-sweetened beverages

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has urged Nigerian government to increase the tax tariff on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) .

The Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, stated this in Kano, on Monday, during the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop on  Journalism Training on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSB) Tax and Industry Monitoring.

Oluwafemi, who decried the health damage being done to Nigerians by the SSB companies, lamented what he described as, “the  extremely low threshold of the tax which has rendered it ineffective, the false narratives of the SSB industry, and the lack of transparency in how the revenue from the tax is expended by the government.”

While insisting that government should increase tax on the SSBs, he also insisted that the revenue made from this venture should be channeled into strengthening Nigeria’s health system to ensure adequate healthcare delivery for all.

According to him, the role of increased SSB Tax is to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, and reduce the contamination of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs).

He added: “the goal of this pro-health policy is to discourage excessive consumption of SSBs reduce Nigerians addiction to sugary drinks, and stem the rise in SSB-fueled noncommunicable diseases.”

Oluwafemi further lamented :”Nigeria is facing escalating public health crisis which is the rise of noncommunicable diseases fuelled, in part, by dietary factors such as the excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods, especially SSBs and  sodium foods.

“Noncommunicable diseases currently account for about 30 per cent of all deaths annually in Nigeria. Noteworthy, is the contributionsof the ultra-processed food industry to this crisis.

 “Food corporations use a sophisticated web of marketing strategies to lure Nigerians-especially children and young adults-into consuming ultra-processed foods that damage their health undermine public health policies, and cost the Nigerian healthcare system billions.”

According to him, recognising the problem, the Nigerian government introduced the Sugar Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax in 2021, imposing a N10 levy per litre on all non-alcoholic, sweetened, and carbonated drinks.

He, however, insisted that the N10 levy per litre is not enough to curb and checkmate the extent of health damage being perpetrated by the suggar-sweetened beverage industries.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Dorothy Amadi, Deputy Director, Risk Factors, Non-Comunicable  Disease (NCD)  Division, Federal Ministry of Health, said the training, “aims to build the capacity of Journalists to accurately report public health concerns, on Non-Communicable Diseases burden in Nigeria and Pro-health policies that priorities citizens’ wellbeing, identify and counter industry tactics that undermines its implementation, and promote the dissemination of evidence-based information in the public.”

She further noted: “As healthy food policy advocacy continues to gain momentum nationwide, the role of the media remains vital in ensuring that individuals, especially at the grassroots level are well-informed and not misled by narratives promoted by vested interests in the big, fixed industry.”

Papers presented during the training include: Cultivating the Media for People-Friendly Public Health Advocacy by Zikora Ibeh, Assistant Director, CAPPA;  Nogeria’s NCD Burdens: The Role of SSBs, Unhealthy Diets by Dr. Ekiyor Joseph, Global Health Policy (London);  SSBs and Economic Impact on Household: Cost of Disease and Effective Taxation by Dr. Oluwatosin Edafe, Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Economics of Africa.