Month: February 2021

For interviews, contact:
Lawrence Mbalati, head of the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA)
082 734 5414
lawrence@heala.org

24 February 2021

Treasury’s failure to raise the health promotion levy to 20% has cost the country billions in lost revenue to fight Covid-19 and is a missed opportunity to save lives in the long-term, says health advocacy organisation the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA).

“Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s failure to raise the country’s health promotion levy on sugary drinks to 20% is a missed opportunity to raise an estimated two billion in revenue to help fund the fight against Covid-19,” says head of HEALA Lawrence Mbalati.

Mbalati says that Treasury’s decision not to raise the levy also hurts the country’s fight to curb deadly increases in non-communicable diseases.

South Africa introduced a health promotion levy of 11% on sugary beverages to help curb the country’s sugar consumption fuelling a rise in non-communicable diseases. Currently, this levy amounts to about 46 cents to the price of an average can of original taste Coca-Cola, for instance. The tax does not apply to natural fruit juices or sweetened dairy products.

“We know that the health promotion levy works to decrease the amount of sugar people consume, reducing their risk of diseases such diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, which has been linked to some types of cancer,” Mbalati explains. “But the levy’s benefits are only possible if it keeps pace with inflation and Treasury hasn’t meaningfully increased the levy since it was introduced in 2018.”

Diabetes and hypertension were among the top 10 leading causes of death in South Africa in 2017.

In Soweto, the health promotion levy led to a 60% reduction in sugary beverage consumption among people who consumed a lot of sugar, according to one survey. University of the Western Cape researchers found similar results from a yet to be published survey in Langa outside Cape Town that showed adults between 18 and 39 reduced their overall sugar intake by almost a third after the levy was introduced.

“The National Treasury itself proposed a sugary beverage levy of 20% in 2016 because officials know that research locally and internationally shows this is what South Africa needs to save lives,” Mbalati says.

“Every year that Treasury fails to deliver a health promotion levy of 20%, more South Africans die from diseases this levy could help prevent, and we know the poorest in South Africa are hardest hit. How much longer must they wait for the government to take action?”

HEALA will deliver a presentation to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance on 3 March when committee members will have an opportunity to reconsider their position and act in the interest of all South Africans — not the vested interests of the few.

For interviews, contact:
Lawrence Mbalati, head of the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA)
082 734 5414
lawrence@heala.org

Read more:
What you need to know about South Africa’s health promotion levy

18 February 2021

Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA), Centre for Communication Impact (CCI) and other partners are launching a Mass Media Campaign on the 18th of February 2021 to organise support and raise the public’s awareness about the harms of excessive consumption of unhealthy foods and the most effective policy-related solutions to the problem.

The partnership, whose mission is to improve the health of an increasingly obese South Africa and to empower the nation to make healthy food and lifestyle choices to prevent Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), is calling on the Minister of Finance, Honourable Tito Mboweni, ahead of his budget speech on the 24th of February 2021 to raise the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) from the current 11% on sugary beverages to 20%.

An estimated 4.5 million South Africans will have Type 2 diabetes by 2030. The burden of Type 2 diabetes is projected to cost the South African public healthcare system over R35.1Billion by 2030. At least 27% of children under 5 years old experience stunting (impaired growth and development), which contributes to diet related Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Excessive consumption of sugary beverages has been linked to obesity and diseases such as diabetes and hypertension which are the leading causes of early mortality in South Africa. These diseases are rapidly increasing and impacting lower income households and rural communities and already placing a huge burden on the South African Government and society.

A Health Promotion Levy (HPL) of 20% in the long-term can reduce sugar consumption, saving lives from Non-Communicable Diseases but also COVID-19 as many scientists don’t expect the pandemic to end any time soon, despite the availability of the vaccine.

“South Africa’s constitution is based on fundamental principles amongst them, to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person, recognise the injustices of our past and lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law. If National Treasury doubled the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) now, it could bring an extra R2 billion in government coffers to help fund the fight against COVID-19 in the short term and towards social and economic programs to advance the lives of ordinary citizens”says Lawrence Mbalati, Programme Manager at HEALA.

According to HEALA, CCI and their partners, over the years consumers have increasingly purchased ultra- processed foods and beverages, a trend in both urban and rural areas, therefore Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) taxes are an effective public health strategy to reduce the burden of health conditions linked to over consumption of sugar. Up to 76% of South Africans support government’s efforts to cut down on excessive sugar consumption now more than ever and it’s time to take bold steps to respond to COVID-19 and diet-related NCDs.

“Policymakers now have the opportunity to increase the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) to 20% to raise additional revenue in the short-term. In the long-term, we know that a Health Promotion Levy (HPL) of 20% will reduce the amount of sugar people consume, decreasing their chance of developing conditions such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure that also put people at a higher risk of dying from COVID-19” adds Mbalati.

South Africa introduced a Health Promotion Levy (HPL) on sugary beverages in 2018 to help curb the country’s sugar consumption. Within its first two years, the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) generated R5.4 Billion for Government. The government currently projects a R300 billion shortfall in revenue in this year’s budget due to the coronavirus pandemic. It has lost millions on sin tax collections due to the ban on alcohol and cigarette sales during the 2020 nationwide lockdown. An increase on the sugar tax from its current 11% to 20% is needed in order to improve health outcomes and support increased revenue collection. A further increase in sugary beverages will not only result in a reduction in Non-Communicable Diseases like diabetes, it will also help support the country’s growing tax collection shortfall.

“HEALA, CCI and its partners are therefore calling on the National Treasury to act now. Raising the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) to 20% is absolutely critical to not only funding the COVID-19 fight but also to saving lives now and in the future”, concludes Mbalati.

/ENDS

To read more about HEALA and the campaign, visit the website at: https://heala.org/