The Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Akinbode Oluwafemi, has revealed that noncommunicable diseases currently account for about 30 per cent of all deaths annually in Nigeria.
Oluwafemi made this known during the Journalism Training on Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax and Industry Monitoring, held on Monday at BON Hotel, Kano.
He highlighted that Nigeria is facing a growing public health crisis, driven largely by poor dietary habits such as the excessive intake of ultra-processed foods, especially sugar-sweetened beverages and high-sodium products.
“Various studies have shown that debilitating diseases, once considered isolated concerns, are now widespread among Nigerians.
“These illnesses drain personal finances, burden the healthcare system, and endanger the health of future generations,” he said.
He pointed to the role of the ultra-processed food industry in worsening the crisis.
According to him, food corporations deploy sophisticated marketing tactics that target Nigerians—particularly children and young adults—enticing them into consuming harmful products that damage health and weaken public health policies.
Oluwafemi recalled that in response to this challenge, the Nigerian government introduced the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) tax in 2021. The policy imposes a N10 levy per litre on all non-alcoholic, sweetened, and carbonated drinks.
He explained that the aim of the SSB tax is to discourage excessive sugar consumption, reduce Nigerians’ dependence on sugary drinks, and curb the rise of SSB-related noncommunicable diseases.
However, he raised concerns over the current implementation of the tax. He criticised the levy’s low threshold, which he said has rendered the policy largely ineffective.
He also pointed to misleading narratives from the SSB industry and a lack of transparency regarding how the tax revenue is utilised by the government.
The CAPPA Director stated that the training programme was designed to equip journalists with the knowledge and tools to report on public health issues, particularly the burden of noncommunicable diseases and related health policies.
He added that participants would also learn how to identify and expose tactics used by industry players to undermine public health policies, while promoting evidence-based reporting.
“Your role is crucial in ensuring that individuals, especially those at the grassroots level, are accurately informed and not misled by narratives pushed by powerful interests in the processed food industry,” he said.
“Through factual, engaging, and investigative journalism, you can educate the public, hold policymakers and industry stakeholders accountable, and ensure that food-related diseases remain central to national conversations while advocating for healthier policies.”
Also speaking at the event, Dr Amadi Dorothy, Deputy Director of the Non-Communicable Division in the Department of Public Health at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, reiterated the importance of media in shaping public understanding.
She noted that as healthy food policy advocacy continues to grow across Nigeria, the media must play a leading role in informing the public, particularly those in rural areas, and in challenging misleading narratives from the food industry.
