Tag: press release

The Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) and Rural Health Advocacy Project (RHAP) call for an increase in the so-called sugar sweetened beverage tax and inclusion of fruit juices to reduce diet-related disease and death, and raise much-needed revenue amidst COVID-19 health demands and budget deficits.

Johannesburg, 4 November: Advocacy groups for healthy food in South Africa have made a strong call backed by scientific evidence for an increase from 11% to 20% of the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), and to include fruit juices in the levy.

Responding to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s 2020 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement last week, the Healthy Living Alliance and Rural Health Advocacy Project highlight how South Africa is grappling with both a COVID-19 epidemic and an obesity epidemic.

Nearly 70% of South African women, 31% of men and 13% of children under five are considered overweight. This is fuelling noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease which put people at greater risk of severe COVID-19 illness and death. South Africa has the highest recorded number of cases and deaths in Africa. The collision of the COVID-19 and the NCD epidemics has significantly increased demands on the country’s health system.

“Sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) such as sodas and fruit juices, as well as ultra-processed foods (industrially made ‘ready to eat and heat’ foods such as cereals and processed meats) contribute to obesity, a key risk factor for type 2 diabetes,” said Mr Lawrence Mbalati, HEALA’s programmes manager.

In 2018, South Africa was the first country in the African Region to introduce a tax on sugary beverages, a strategy which the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends as an effective way to reduce sugar consumption and address NCDs. South Africa’s HPL aimed to address rising rates of overweight, obesity and diet-related NCDs, and raise much needed revenue for health promotion.

According to National Treasury data, the HPL raised R3.195 billion in the first fiscal year (April 2018 – October 2019). While the tax is currently set at 11%, HEALA and RHAP have urged the Finance Minister to increase this to WHO’s recommended rate of 20%, which could drop demand by 24%.

“We don’t know the impact of the HPL because NEDLAC’s study on this has still not been completed. We are repeating our call for fruit juices to be included. Excluding them leads people to believe that juices are healthier, when in fact the sugar content is similarly high to soft drinks. Marketing fruit juice as a ‘healthy alternative’ to children and parents puts them at risk of consuming excessive amounts of sugar. Fresh fruits are fine on their own, but when turned into fruit juice, much more fruit is needed to make up the volume. Our bodies process these additional sugars in the same way as SSBs,” he said.

“Now more than ever, South Africa will benefit from an increased HPL tax for additional revenue and help to reduce risks related to obesity,” concluded Mr Mbalati.

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Issued by Healthy Living Alliance (HEALA) and Rural Health Advocacy Project (RHAP)
For media interviews, please contact Lawrence Mbalati, HEALA Programmes Manager, 082 734 5414

First evidence of food and beverage industry tactics to counter public health policies in South Africa indicates partnerships with government and calls for greater transparency to stop undue influence

Johannesburg –29 July In the first study of its kind, researchers have uncovered the variety of strategies used by the food and beverage industry in South Africa to negatively influence policies aimed at promoting health, including building relationships with South African government departments.

The article by lead author Dr Mélissa Mialon of the University of Sao Paulo in the International Journal of Public Health (29 July 2020),  maps additional major industry interference techniques which include lobbying government officials, influencing scientific research, and attempting to refocus policy issues by diverting attention away from the role of unhealthy products which contribute to ill health.

“Industry’s corporate political activity influences public opinion and potentially hinders proven health policies to reduce diet-related conditions such as obesity and diabetes which are so prevalent in South Africa,” said Dr Mialon.

Over four million people in South Africa live with diabetes, which is emerging as a major risk factor for severe COVID-19 disease and death, and nearly 70% of women and 40% of men in the country are either overweight or obese.

The researchers found a total of 107 examples of political practices from publicly available documents from January 2018 to April 2019 from ten major food and beverage entities (Tiger Brands, Pioneer Foods, Clover, Parmalat, Nestlé, Coca-Cola South Africa, the South African Sugar Association (SASA), the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), the Beverage Association of South Africa (BEVSA) and the International Life Science Institute (ILSA)).

These practices included partnerships between industry and government departments such as the Department of Basic Education, the Department of Sport & Recreation, and the Department of Health on company-branded school breakfast programmes, the donation of sugar to food security efforts, and educational funding for students. Industry was found to engage directly in policy processes, including heavy lobbying against the sugar-sweetened beverage tax. A total of 51 examples revealed how industry reframed arguments to divert attention away from the role of unhealthy products in health, and 49 cases of industry building partnerships with third parties to influence health policy efforts.

The authors could find no details about conflicts of interest of government officials or information on interactions and correspondence between industry and government officials.

At the World Health Assembly in 2019, the South African delegation called for urgent action to respond to what it called the ‘commercial determinants of health’ – corporate activities that affect health – which includes corporate political activity of the food and beverage industry.

“It is critical that there is greater knowledge, transparency and monitoring of industry strategies and practices,” the researchers conclude.

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“This study reveals the range of tactics that South Africa’s food and beverage industry deploys, putting profits before people and undercutting critical public health initiatives. To have over 100 examples, and only those publicly available, means this is likely just the tip of the iceberg. It highlights the urgent need for transparency to expose undue influence on public health policy,” said Mr Lawrence Mbalati of the Healthy Living Alliance.

“South Africa needs transparency mechanisms to restrict the food and beverage industry’s influence on policy issues, including policies to ensure interactions between industry and government officials are transparent, and in certain cases prohibited, particularly during the policy decision stage. The health of South Africans cannot be put further at risk,” he said.

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Issued by Health Living Alliance (HEALA)

Endorsing Organisations to Press Statement

• Right to Know
• Section27
• Peoples Health Movement (PHM)
• Amandla.Mobi
• Rural Health Advocacy Project (RHAP)
• Health-e News
• Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI)

The article is available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00038-020-01407-1.

For media interviews, please contact: Gugulethu Myeza

Contact Number : 0837934783