The HEALA Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Nzama Mbalati as its Interim CEO effective 1st December 2023. Mr Mbalati has been serving with the organisation since 2018 and has been a valuable member of HEALA as the Programmes Manager driving the Programmes Strategy. His professional experience encompasses over 17 years in …
HEALA Board Appoints Nzama Mbalati As Interim CEO Read More »
On World Diabetes Day the Healthy Living Alliance, HEALA, embarked on a day of action calling on the government to increase the Health Promotion Levy to the recommended 20% to reduce the over consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSB’s) and decrease the incidence of diabetes amongst South Africans. Concerned South Africans gathered outside the offices …
Delays in increasing the Health Promotion Levy a danger to South Africans Read More »
By Nzama Mbalati and Zukiswa Zimela It is really difficult to read food labels. What is trans-fat? How is it different from saturated fat? Why is sodium in milligrams instead of grams? Is it good for me? That is, of course, if you even see the label on the back of the package. On April …
OPINION: Let’s be upfront on front-of-pack labelling Read More »
One in 3 South Africans suffer from some form of cardiovascular disease and heart disease and hypertension are in listed in top ten causes of death in the country. A 2020 study published in the European Heart Journal – Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes journal highlighted poor diet as one of the leading contributors to heart disease deaths around the world. The over consumption …
The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) held its quarterly panel discussion at the Clico Boutique Hotel. HEALA advocates for communities to organize and mobilize around policy and the right to affordable, nutritious food. The discussion presented the media with an opportunity to learn about the role the big food plays in frustrating the implementation of lifesaving …
Healthy Living Alliance steering conversations about healthy food and healthy living Read More »
South Africa blazed a trail as the first African country to legalise a tax on sugary drinks, making a bold stand on 1 April 2018. By implementing this pioneering move, we paved the way for a strategy that could reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages significantly. Studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that …
South Africa can show BRICS leadership with a new sugar approach Read More »
New research demonstrates that child-directed marketing strategies are used on most South African breakfast cereals. “New research from University of the Western Cape, led by researcher Alice S. Khan, exposes how breakfast cereals, which directly market to children, have a lower nutritional value and 96% of the cereals studied had a nutritional health claim. There is an …
Growing up I watched the annual Christmas adverts made by a popular global sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) brand with amazement. Their trickery added to the festive magic and convinced me that Christmas would not be complete without their products being part of the family feast. As an adult, I know better. Their not-so-sweet intentions of making …
With one day to go before the 21 July closing of the public comment period for new draft legislation on mandatory food labelling and restrictions on marketing of unhealthy foods and drinks, the Healthy Living Alliance (Heala) is calling on government to strengthen the proposed marketing restrictions – specifically, to place tougher restrictions on advertising …
The National Department of Health has released front-of-pack warning label regulations for public comment. South Africans need to participate in the process to ensure that we are all protected from profit-driven corporate activities promoting harmful goods and unhealthy food. Growing up in the Eastern Cape, I remember eating foods prepared from start to finish in …
OP ED: Help protect your fellow South Africans against predatory food practices Read More »
