With the increasing burden of Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), rising costs of healthcare services, and it’s negative impacts on Nigeria’s population, the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) and the Institute of Church and Society, have urged religious leaders to step into the ring and fight for the health of their congregation.
Speaking at a one-day workshop organised by the Institute in Ibadan, Oyo State, which featured religious leaders of all faiths from the Southwest and Kwara State, they described the burden of diseases in Nigeria as enormous while affirming that the current Sugar Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax is too weak to discourage an unhealthy lifestyle choice.
The religious leaders urged the government to begin investments in preventive healthcare, including increasing the SSB tax to 150 Naira, adjusted for inflation, to have the desired pass-through effect.
The Institute’s director, Revd. Kolade Fadahunsi, reasoned that an effective SSB tax would help deliver food justice to Nigerians.
He said “As part of our social justice week, we have decided to partner with CAPPA to raise awareness on the dangers of SSBs using religious leaders who will get the message to the people. They will also be campaigning alongside CAPPA to demand an increase in the tax. This will also include our campaign against food wastage as we hope for food justice in Nigeria and the world at large”, Fadahunsi added.
Speaking with newsmen during the event, CAPPA Project Officer for the SSBs, Opeyemi Ibitoye, noted that the current 10 Naira which was introduced in 2021 is not effective but commended the federal government for putting it in place.
She said: “While we appreciate the government’s efforts to tackle this menace with the introduction of N10/litre, it’s time for the government to move it to at least #130 to help Nigerians fight the scourge of preventable NCDs.”
