This World Diabetes Day, celebrated annually on 14 November, Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) wishes to draw attention to diabetes care, as well as urge the government to continue reinforcing those policies that contribute towards lessening the plight of those living with this non-communicable disease. 

Diabetes affects 12% of the adult population in South Africa, and is the second leading cause of death after tuberculosis. Left untreated or detected late diabetes can wreak havoc on individuals’ health and livelihoods, as well as the national fiscus. Diabetes, for diagnosed patients alone, costs South Africa’s health system about R2.7 billion. Severe complications associated with diabetes range from loss of sight, strokes, and amputation of legs to heart conditions, nerve damage, and kidney problems – to name a few.

One of those affected by this life-changing disease is Alinah. In 2010, Alinah was diagnosed with diabetes. Following the diagnosis, the sixty-four-year-olds life changed forever when her leg was amputated. Alinah attributes her condition to a poor diet and the over-consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. 

HEALA fully supports the 2024 World Diabetes Day theme: ‘Diabetes and Well-being’, and further casts a spotlight on the Health Promotion Levy (HPL) being a pivotal first step in ensuring that store and supermarket shelves lessen the temptation of sugar-sweetened beverages for consumers. 

“It is no coincidence that we are seeing the growing epidemic of diabetes in South Africa. In townships, villages and some urban areas, supermarkets are saturated with vigorously marketed, cheap sugary drinks – the likes of energy drinks, fruit juices, and fizzy drinks. In some areas, particularly where there is limited access to clean running water, people opt to quench their thirst with sugary drinks because some can be as cheap as below R10. Therefore, it is important that we enable consumers to move to healthier alternatives instead of resorting to sugary drinks as an easily-accessible option,” notes HEALA CEO Nzama Mbalati. 

The South African government introduced the HPL in 2018 to curb the consumption of sugary drinks – which are widely known to be associated with ill health. “On the one hand, consumers are exempted from HPL when they do not purchase sugary drinks. On the other hand, it is an opportunity for manufacturers to reduce the sugar content in their products, which then exempts them from paying the levy,” explains Mbalati, adding that HPL is a proven success, per research studies conducted in the townships of Langa and Soweto. “The studies found a two third reduction in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, particularly among the youth and adults, since the inception of HPL six years ago.”

If the HPL is increased and expanded, the number of people like Babalo, who says his love of sugar-sweetened beverages is one of the things that led to his amputation could be reduced. The 50-year-old has diabetes and high blood pressure. These illnesses could be caused by drinking too many sugary drinks. He says he supports raising the tax. 

“I appreciate the government’s efforts to make fizzy drinks more expensive because they are trying to save people from diabetes,” he says.

HEALA is calling on the government to protect the HPL and increase this life-changing intervention to 20% and expand the levy to include 100% fruit juices to the lives of ordinary South Africans. 

Ends.

WATCH THE TRUE COST OF DIABETES