On Tuesday, October 29, 2024, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), in collaboration with the National Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax Coalition (NSSBTC), hosted the 2024 National Conference on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax in FCT Abuja, Nigeria.
Supported by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), the event drew the participation of policymakers, health commissioners, lawmakers, civil society, academia, and media representatives who actively discussed opportunities and pathways for strengthening Nigeria’s healthcare financing policies and other regulatory frameworks to combat the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Nigeria.
CAPPA Executive Director Akinbode Oluwafemi, whilst speaking during his opening remark, expressed worry at the alarming rise of nutrition-related diseases, pointing out the estimated $2.37 billion financial toll of managing overweight and obesity in Nigeria. He called for decisive measures to safeguard public health, stressing the importance of the conference in driving actionable solutions.
In her goodwill message, GHAI’s In-Country Coordinator, Joy Amafah, underscored the value of multi-sectoral collaboration in tackling health challenges. She praised Nigeria’s SSB tax as a pro-health initiative capable of improving public well-being.
Also speaking, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by Pharm. Olubunmi Aribeana hailed the SSB tax as a milestone in combating NCDs and fostering healthier diets in Nigeria.
Dr. Evelyn Thsehla, Research Director at SAMRC/WITS Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science, delivered the keynote address, citing Africa’s disproportionate NCD burden, which costs $74.6 billion annually in income losses. She said SSB taxes, proven effective in over 50 countries, represent a triple-win solution: improving health outcomes, reducing healthcare costs, and generating revenue.
The conference featured robust discussions across two-panel sessions: the burden of NCDs in Nigeria and legislative options for a sustainable SSB tax regime.
By the end of the conference, participants agreed that NCDs are a major challenge, accounting for 29 percent of annual deaths in Nigeria, with risk factors including unhealthy diets, tobacco use, air pollution, excessive alcohol consumption, and physical inactivity. Participants also flagged the detrimental role of sugar-sweetened beverages, which offer no nutritional value yet contribute significantly to public health and economic burdens. They called for urgent government commitment to a multidisciplinary approach to combat Nigeria’s growing NCD problem.
Concerns were raised about the lack of funding for addressing illnesses linked to excessive SSB consumption and unhealthy dietary habits. The need for robust accountability mechanisms to ensure SSB tax revenues benefit Nigerians was also emphasised.
Several key recommendations emerged from the conference, such as retaining the SSB tax and increasing the tax rate in the 2025 fiscal policy to at least ₦130/litre to decrease local consumption of unhealthy drinks. Other recommendations also called for an overhauling of the SSB tax structure to align with global best practices and respond to inflationary pressures.
Participants also urged that revenue from the SSB tax be directed towards health promotion and into the Vulnerable Group Fund (VGF) established by the National Health Insurance Authourity (NHIA) Act of 2022 to achieve Universal Health Coverage. Other thoughts included reinforcing food safety regulations, implementing front-of-pack labelling to guide consumers, and fully operationalising the National Policy on Food Safety and Quality.
The conference underscored the need to strengthen the Interministerial Ad-hoc Committee on SSB Tax, establishing it as a government-led Technical Working Group under the Federal Ministry of Health’s Sector-Wide Approach (SWAp) to ensure a more coordinated and effective approach to advancing public health. Recommendations also extended to state governments, encouraging them to domesticate public health policies and invest in the generation of in-country data to assess the impacts of the SSB tax and analyse consumption patterns.
