Public health advocates have alerted to the dangers of consuming over 40 million liters of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) by Nigerians, maintaining that it puts pressure on the health and socio-economic systems as it costs a whopping $2.37 billion (an equivalent of N3.68 trillion) yearly to manage obesity, overweight and other related ailments.
Executive Director of the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Akinbode Oluwafemi, who stated this at the just-concluded National Conference on SSBs Tax in Abuja, insisted that if not properly checked with the appropriate taxation and reduction in the consumption of sugary drinks, Nigeria risks losing millions of lives and huge amounts of money in managing SSB-induced ailments.
He argued that the situation asserts pressures on the country’s health, economic and social systems, adding: “Nigeria’s consumption of over 40 million liters of SSBs contributes to an estimated $2.37 billion yearly in societal costs for managing obesity and overweight issues, with informal care costs exceeding N58 million.”
Oluwafemi urged the Federal Ministry of Health and all relevant authorities to find sustainable ways to control the avoidable diseases, alleviate the mounting expenses they impose and bolster Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure and social systems to check the burden of the diseases.
He said the theme of the conference: Health Tax as a Recipe for Improved Healthcare Financing betrayed the urgency of the situation to elicit Nigerian government’s understanding of the critical task at hand through its adoption of the SSB tax which imposes an excise duty of N10 per liter on all non-alcoholic and sweetened beverages in the country.
“This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. However, much work remains to ensure that this policy achieves its full potential and delivers the intended outcomes, particularly in terms of how it is utilized to reinforce healthcare interventions for local populations.
“At N10 per liter, Nigeria’s current tax on SSBs falls short of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation and global best practice of a minimum of 20 percent of total retail prices.
“The impact of our current tax rate has been largely eroded by escalating inflationary pressures, rendering it nearly ineffective, hence the need for its re-evaluation.”
He further explained that due to the urgency of the situation, CAPPA and the Centre for the Study of Economies of Africa (CSEA), conducted a simulation study that examined the potential fiscal and public health effects of SSBs in Nigeria, to provide Nigeria-specific data and information to support a re-calibration of the SSB tax rate.
According to him, findings from the research not only underscored the urgent need to address the public health impact of excessive SSBs consumption, but also identified an effective tax rate of N130 per liter as the most sustainable peg for realizing public health goals.
Source: The Trumpet
