The federal government Wednesday said Nigeria is amongst the countries with 77 percent of the global 41 million death caused by Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD).
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr Muhammad Ali Pate, said this in Abuja at the just concluded National Conference on Sugar Sweetened Beverages Tax organised by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Corporate Accountability Public Participation Africa (CAPPA).
The conference was themed: “Towards Sustainable Pathway for Pro-Health Tax in Nigeria.”
The minister who was represented by the director, Public Health Department, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Chukwuma Anyaike said taxation on SSB has shown effective reduction on its consumption in countries where it is in force.
He said the introduction and sustenance of SSB tax in Nigeria will reduce excess consumption of SSBS and thus reduce the burden of NCDs.
He further said they are committed to attain the global best practice as recommended by the World Health Organisation of at least 20% of the final retail price on all SSBS as the current 10 naira per liter price fails to achieve this.
Also, the executive director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Akinbode Oluwafemi, expressed concern that more than 30% of all deaths in Nigeria are linked to non-communicable diseases.
He said: “According to a World Health Organisation’s (WHO) report, the risk of premature death from cardiovascular diseases, cancers, respiratory diseases, and diabetes among Nigerians aged 30 to 69-year-olds is 22%.
“As of 2020, there were more than 21 million overweight and 12 million obese ‘persons in the Nigerian population aged 15 years or more, accounting for an age adjusted prevalence of about 20% and 12% respectively.”
Source: BluePrint
