CAPPA Urges FG, States to Fix Food Environment to Curb Diabetes

Group seeks 20% sugar tax, warning labels on packaged foods, restrictions on junk-food marketing to children

CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi

The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has urged federal and state governments to address the commercial and structural factors driving the rising burden of diabetes in Nigeria, warning that medical treatment alone cannot tackle the growing public health challenge.

The organisation made the call in a statement ahead of World Diabetes Day 2026, observed on November 14, with the theme, “Early Action on Diabetes”.

CAPPA said early intervention must go beyond screening and timely medical care to include transforming the country's food environment to make healthy, nutritious and culturally appropriate foods affordable and accessible.

Citing the International Diabetes Federation, the organisation said Nigeria has the highest number of adults aged 20 to 79 living with diabetes in Africa, while the World Health Organisation estimates that nearly three in four adults with diabetes on the continent remain undiagnosed.

It warned that millions of people were therefore exposed to complications such as kidney failure, blindness, stroke and amputations.

CAPPA also cited an estimated N1.92 trillion annual out-of-pocket expenditure by Nigerian households on diet-related non-communicable diseases, saying the cost was pushing vulnerable families further into poverty.

Its Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said diabetes prevention should not be reduced to individual discipline or willpower, arguing that aggressive marketing, misleading product claims and the affordability of unhealthy foods were shaping consumers' choices.

He recalled that CAPPA's Junk On Our Plates report, released last year, documented marketing strategies used by food and beverage companies to promote ultra-processed products high in sugar and sodium across seven Nigerian states.

The report, he said, identified targeted advertising to children, young people and low-income communities, alongside misleading nutrition labels, celebrity endorsements and the use of cultural imagery to promote unhealthy products.

“We cannot keep telling Nigerians to eat healthily while allowing unhealthy food and beverages to dominate our markets, schools, advertisements and public spaces,” Oluwafemi said.

He added that early action on diabetes must begin with strong regulatory policies that make healthy choices possible, affordable and accessible.

To address the problem, CAPPA outlined five priority areas for government and regulatory agencies.

First, it called for the finalisation and enforcement of a proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, urging the House of Representatives and the Executive to conclude action following the Senate's passage of a review bill earlier this year.

The organisation advocated an inflation-adjusted excise tax of at least 20 per cent of the final retail price, in line with WHO recommendations.

It also urged government to ring-fence the revenue for the prevention and management of diet-related diseases, primary healthcare, diabetes screening, subsidies for healthy local foods and nutrition programmes.

Second, CAPPA called on the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control to introduce mandatory Front-of-Pack Warning Labels on packaged products high in sugar, sodium and unhealthy fats.

“Consumers have a fundamental right to know what is in their food without having to decode tiny, obscured print on the back of packages,” the statement said.

Third, it advocated statutory restrictions on the marketing and sponsorship of sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods targeted at children and adolescents across television, digital platforms and public spaces.

It also urged states to enforce federal food procurement guidelines to ensure that schools, hospitals and other public institutions serve nutritious meals.

Fourth, the organisation called for safeguards against food industry interference in public health policymaking, warning against what it described as “healthwashing” and misleading claims that make unhealthy products appear nutritious.

It specifically cautioned against using the addition of selected micronutrients to sugary drinks or high-sodium products to disguise their nutritional shortcomings.

“Fortification must never become a marketing licence to disguise unhealthy products or undermine policies that seek to reduce their consumption,” CAPPA said.

Finally, it called for stronger primary healthcare services and greater support for local food systems.

It urged federal and state governments to increase funding for Primary Healthcare Centres to provide free or subsidised blood glucose testing, essential medicines and support for local insulin production.

CAPPA also called for agricultural incentives to be redirected towards smallholder farmers producing indigenous fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

“Diabetes is not inevitable, and early action against the condition must include action against the commercial practices that make unhealthy diets increasingly difficult to avoid,” Oluwafemi said.

He urged lawmakers and regulators to prioritise public health and productivity in their decisions on food and nutrition policies.