The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has called for the implementation of effective food policies that will enhance healthy diet among Nigerians and also reduce the burden on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the country.
The call was made during a one-day Capacity Building Programme for Social Movements and other Groups on the sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) Tax, Healthy Food Policies and Food Justice in Nigeria.
While delivering his welcome remarks, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, the Executive Director of CAPPA, said NCDs are responsible for about 41 million deaths yearly, equivalent to 71 per cent of all deaths globally, and the consumption of SSBs as risk factor of NCDs.
Oluwafemi said “In Nigeria, nearly 30% of annual deaths are due to NCDs, such as diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart diseases, stroke, cancer, and oral health diseases, among a long list. In understanding this public health challenge, scientific studies and evidence have increasingly identified and singled out the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) as a critical risk driver of NCDs and obesity, which is a pre-disposing health condition for NCDs.”
The CAPPA ED noted that “to mitigate NCDs, therefore, the consumption of these beverages and unhealthy diet ought to be reduced.
“Across the world, taxes on SSBs have not only been proven to drive behavioural changes that improve public health but have also been confirmed to generate revenue that can be used to enhance public infrastructure and offset healthcare costs associated with NCDs.”
Joy Amafah, Nigeria In-Country Coordinator, Cardiovascular Health Program for Global Health Advocacy Incubator, GHAI, in her goodwill message shared that healthy food is a human rights issue and social justice issue that needs to be upheld.
Amafah, who said it is obvious that industry actors are working actively to ensure healthy foods are not easily accessible to the public, noted that it is essential to check who the key players are and their roles in denying the citizens of their rights.
She commended CAPPA’s efforts in promoting food justice in Nigeria and also called for a collective effort of all stakeholders to attain food justice in Nigeria.
In his keynote address, the Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), Dr Nnimmo Bassey explained that access to safe and wholesome food is a fundamental human right, yet Nigerians are being exposed to GMOs without their knowledge or consent.
He stated that over 20 GMO varieties have been approved in Nigeria, with some already in circulation, and many more imported as finished products.
The HOMEF Director expressed concern that Nigerians are unaware of the risks associated with GMOs, including biodiversity erosion, contamination of non-GMO crops, and health risks from herbicide tolerance.
He also highlighted the lack of transparency in the approval process, with risk assessment reports not made available to the public.
Bassey called for a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s biosafety law, citing its inadequacy in protecting Nigerians and the environment.
He urged the government to invest in supporting small-scale farmers, who produce 70 per cent of the world’s food, rather than relying on industrial farming and GMOs.
The use of GMOs, Bassey warned, compromises Nigeria’s food security and resilience, perpetuating a system prioritising profits over people’s health and well-being.
He emphasised that the government must take immediate action to address these concerns and ensure that Nigerians have access to safe, wholesome food.
Dr Francis Fagbule, Public Health Specialist from University College Hospital, University of Ibadan who spoke on the SSBs and the Nigeria‘s NCD Buden shared that the consumption of ultra-processed foods is responsible for the rise in non-communicable diseases in Nigeria.
Fagbule, who explained that NCDs have multi-faceted effects on Nigerians, stressed that “there is associated economic burden that comes with increased sickness” adding that “out-of-pocket cost of NCDs was 10,193 to 10,750 and it is important to push for policies that will reduce health problems in Nigeria.”
The Public Health Specialist also noted that there are “private sector activities that affect people’s health, directly or indirectly, positively or negatively, including strategies and approaches used by the private sector to promote products and choices that are detrimental to health.”
He thereafter called for the implementation of a pro-health tax, noting that “the tax plays vital role to correct injustice in the food sector such as redirecting funds to public health initiatives; revenue generated from the SSB tax can be invested in public health programs, addressing socio-economic inequities and programs promoting healthy alternatives.”
Corroborating him, Abayomi Sarumi, Programme Officer at CAPPA stressed that “there is a need to implement SSB Tax now, we would only be deceiving ourselves if we think there is no urgency in our demands.”
The capacity building was attended by campaigners, public health experts, community members and researchers working on food justice in Nigeria. At the end of the session, participants were onboarded to join the National Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Coalition (NSSBTC) to forge a common front to attain food justice in Nigeria.