Health Promotion Levy

This World Heart Day, the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) is calling on the government to take the health of South Africans to heart.

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 …

This World Heart Day, the Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) is calling on the government to take the health of South Africans to heart. Read More »

Healthy Living Alliance steering conversations about healthy food and healthy living

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 …

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WE ARE HIRING: Finance and Admin Intern

Position:  Finance and Admin Intern Location:  Rosebank, Johannesburg Contract duration:  9 months Closing date:  24th May 2023   About us: Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) is a coalition of civil society organisations advocating for equitable access to affordable, nutritious food in South Africa by building a more just food system.  HEALA’s vision is a South Africa …

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STATEMENT: We can’t rely on food and beverage industry to safeguard our health

A cursory walk around the supermarket shows that South African shops are inundated with pre-packaged foods that are processed with high levels of added sugars, salt, and saturated fats. South African’s who want to make better health choices are thwarted by incomprehensible and food labels.  Nutrition illiteracy and the availability of these foods is wreaking …

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Treasury chooses special interests over people

16 May 2022 For interviews, contact: Nzama Mbalati, HEALA 082 734 5414 Nzama@heala.org 16 May 2022 Treasury’s postponement of a planned 4.5% increase to the health promotion levy, announced in the 2022 Budget, raises concerns about who calls the shots on the country’s national economic and health policy. The increase, initially announced to go into …

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HEALA: 2022 Division of Revenue Proposals

HEALA: 2022 Division of Revenue Proposals

Submission to Standing Committee on Appropriations 1. Background Introduced in 2018, the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) is a tax designed to precisely target the sugar content added to sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) beyond acceptable thresholds. This lowers overall sugar consumption via SSBs through incentivising companies towards reformulating their products and affecting a reduction in demand …

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Fact Sheet: Evidence to support increasing South Africa’s Health Promotion Levy (HPL) to 20% in 2021

South Africa implemented its Health Promotion Levy, or HPL, in April of 2018. The HPL is a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax of approximately 11%, based on sugar content. Initial research on the price impact of the HPL has shown prices increased commensurate with the tax for taxed beverages but did not change for non-taxable beverages …

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