The Albino Foundation Public Notice
The National Action on Sugar Reduction (NASR) Coalition has insisted that Nigeria’s poor are doomed if taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages are not immediately raised.
The coalition, which is made up of the Cancer Society of Nigeria, Diabetes Association of Nigeria, Project Pink Blue, and others at a meeting in Abuja called on President Tinubu to act now.
The coalition has been advocating for pro-health policies, including the passage of Nigeria’s N10m per liter excise tax in the 2021 Finance Act.
Speaking at the event, coalition members maintained that the tax, by deterring the purchase and consumption of harmful sugary beverages, would reap health benefits by preventing non-communicable diseases, especially among the urban poor who cannot afford the high cost of treatment.
It was learnt that in Nigeria, NCDs such as cancer, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and kidney failure account for one in three deaths.
On account of the ongoing, NASR coalition reprimanded the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) for demanding the removal of pro-health taxes, lamenting that the association was putting profit over health.
It would be recalled that shortly after the inauguration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, MAN addressed an open letter to the president urging him to review all non “business-friendly” fiscal policies, including the tax on alcoholic beverages, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and tobacco.
Responding to this development, chair of the NASR Coalition, Dr Adamu Alhassan Umar, said during the meeting that “the reason for taxing these ‘sin commodities’ is to preserve Nigerians’
health and well-being, as they contribute to the country’s rising non-communicable disease toll.” He recalled that removing sin taxes would shift an increasing budgetary burden on the underfunded health-care sector, rendering the tax reversal counterproductive.
Co-chair of the coalition, Comrade Bernard Enyia, who is the National Secretary of the Diabetes Association of Nigeria, also demanded that “the new administration should, as a matter of urgency, prioritise the implementation of this policy and even upgrade it from N10 per litre to N30. He added that “the revenue accruing from this tax regime will definitely enhance the health care financing architecture, while people living with chronic diseases will reduce the crushing out-of-pocket expenditure we incur on a daily basis.”
According to studies, the economic burden of failing to tackle NCDs caused by sugar-sweetened beverage consumption includes costly treatment, lost income and lower productivity, pushing millions into poverty each year and stifling development.
Coalition member, Funmi Adefila-Osiegbu, who is the Executive Director of Bundies Care Support Initiative, maintained that “the sugar-sweetened beverage tax can increase revenue for the health sector and can also be used to improve social insurance.
“I will recommend that there should be an increase in public awareness on all fronts of the unhealthy impact of sugar-sweetened beverages and the benefits of imposing SSB taxes for the benefit of all.”
The coalition maintained its stance on the sugar-sweetened beverage tax, stating that only a tax rate that increases the price of sugary beverages by 20% of the final retail price will make a real impact on health.
Our correspondent learnt that the rising death rate and health pandemic, particularly NCD-related sickness, is a national cause of concern that must be addressed with suitable regulations to limit the risk of disease.
