By Ruth Adebayo, Oluwatobi Aroyehun, Semirat Suleiman and Sunday Kolo
Healthy Food Policy Youth Vanguard (HFPYV), a group of youthful advocates for food justice and public health in favour of young Nigerians, has appealed to the Federal Government to urgently approve and implement a drastic hike in the taxes being levied on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs).
It appealed to the Federal Government to raise the taxes on SSBs from the current N10 per litre to N130 per litre, saying this would serve the overall interest of the nation’s public health.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by Afeez Adebayo, the group said the SSBs and ultra-processed food industry have been targeting Nigeria’s large youth population with unhealthy food products.
It lamented that such targeting is always being pushed by various misleading advertising that manipulates the youth into forming harmful dietary habits, with the sole purpose of boosting the SSBs and ultra-processed food industry’s profits.
According to HFPYV, recent data and other health statistics indicated that a Nigerian household with NCDs spent the equivalent of $398.52 per year on the average on NCD care; while in general, Nigerians spent the equivalent of about $1.26 billion yearly treating NCDs. This, it noted, exposes such families into financial hardships.
“These are particularly worrying data because, according to Worldometer, about 70 per cent of the Nigerian population is under 30 years old, while 42 per cent are under 15. This makes us one of the countries with the largest youth populations in the world, whose youthful energy should be an asset in our quest for national development rather than a market for corporations to exploit for profits at the expense of people’s lives,” the statement hinted.
According to the group, the situation points to the need for urgent measures by the government, through the Ministry of Youth Development, to take steps to ensure the protection of youths.
It suggested a major preventive measure as the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) Tax which was introduced by the Federal Government to address the health issues arising from excessive consumption of sugary drinks in the country.
The group urged the Federal Government to halt the rate at which “unhealthy, Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and ultra-processed foods that are generally high in sodium and sugar, the excessive consumption of which erodes health,” are being peddled for profit.
