African Public Health Advocates Gather in Lagos to Tackle Tobacco Industry Interference

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Public health advocates from 12 African countries have converged on Lagos for a five-day training programme aimed at strengthening the continent's capacity to monitor and counter tobacco industry interference in public health policies.

The training, organised by the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Policy Research (ATIM), is being hosted in Nigeria for the first time and has attracted participants from Kenya, Nigeria, Benin, Botswana, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal and Zimbabwe.

Speaking at the opening of the programme, ATIM Director and Head of the School of Health Systems and Public Health at the University of Pretoria, Prof. Lekan Ayo-Yusuf, said tobacco industry interference remains a major obstacle to effective tobacco control across Africa.

He said the course was designed to equip advocates with the skills needed to proactively monitor, document and counter industry tactics through evidence-based research and advocacy.

"The course is intended to strengthen the capacity of tobacco control advocates to effectively monitor and counteract tobacco industry interference in public health policies in Africa," Ayo-Yusuf said.

He added that participants would also learn to analyse emerging industry strategies, identify front groups, interpret industry documents and develop effective tobacco control policies and advocacy campaigns.

Also speaking, Executive Director of Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Akinbode Oluwafemi, said the tobacco industry had continued to evolve its strategies, making it necessary to build a new generation of advocates capable of confronting emerging challenges.

According to him, the training has become more important as the industry increasingly promotes what he described as misleading harm-reduction narratives and develops products targeted at young people.

Participants described the programme as timely and relevant.

A youth tobacco control advocate with the Kenya Tobacco Control Alliance, Jackline Mbone Juma, said the training had provided practical skills in monitoring industry activities and accessing tobacco industry documents.

Similarly, Communications Officer of the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance, Emmanuel Onwuka, said the programme would strengthen participants' capacity to monitor, document and report tobacco industry interference across Africa.

ATIM, based at the University of Pretoria, is a specialised African centre that supports research, intelligence gathering, policy protection and capacity building in line with the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

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