By Mashe Umaru Gwamna
Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari, minister of health and ministry of finance for recognizing the importance of healthy food policies and the significant impact this SSB tax will have in Nigeria.
According to a statement signed and issued to Peoples Daily yesterday, by NASR Representative, Omei Bongos,said
“We applaud President Buhari, the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Health for the newly implemented tax, an excise duty of N10 per liter ($0.02 USD/liter) imposed on all non-alcoholic and sweetened beverages, comes at a key moment in Nigeria.
Bongos said estimation to have shown that over 12 million people suffering from obesity and this has leads the continent in diabetes prevalence.
“The tax will encourage decreased consumption, raise government revenue and will be a critical tool to help fight the non-communicable disease (NCD) epidemic in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy.”
According to him,the implementation of healthy food policies, including SSB taxes, will help curb the globally growing rates of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related non-communicable diseases.
The statement also noted that, Advocacy & External Engagement Specialist at Gatefield Impact, the partners of GHAI in Nigeria, Shirley Ewang, stated that “We are thrilled about this development. The SSB tax is a win for public health and the Nigerian people.
Ewang maintained that Gatefield has benefited from the collaborative endeavours of diverse stakeholders, including members of our NASR coalition, other public health groups, and the academic research community, in achieving this historic milestone.
