Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has backed calls by the Diabetes Association of Nigeria –DAN urging Federal Government to declare a national emergency on diabetes.
In a statement to mark the 2025 “World Diabetes Day”, CAPPA said it fully supports an upward review of the sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) tax, with all proceeds channeled into strengthening the health sector as well as other life-saving healthy food policies.
The statement explained that the alarming rise in diabetes cases, combined with the poor life expectancy in Nigeria, informed the support for urgent sweeping policy measures targeting unhealthy diets, particularly the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and other diabetes risk factors.
CAPPA described as “alarming” a recent report that an estimated 30,000 Nigerians die yearly from diabetes, while about 11.4 million others are currently living with the disease.
According to the statement, “this was even worse than the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimate, which reports a prevalence of roughly 3.0 per cent in Nigeria, with approximately 2.99 million adults living with diabetes”.
It also said “the organization was dismayed that the average monthly cost of diabetes management “now stands at between N100,000 and N120,000”, according to the media report. CAPPA said this had made proper management of the disease not only impossible for most patients but could spell a death sentence for many Nigerians impoverished by the poor economy”.
“This is yet another troubling statistic on the state of Nigeria’s noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) burden, and the country’s public health system,” CAPPA stated.
“In this context, we at CAPPA fully support the call by the Diabetes Association of Nigeria (DAN) for the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on diabetes care, and to significantly raise the sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) tax, with all proceeds channelled into strengthening the health sector,” said Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director, CAPPA.
Mr Oluwafemi explained that CAPPA’s support was hinged on the facts that unhealthy diets and sugary drinks drive the risk for Non Communicable Disease-NCDs.
“An effective SSB tax, sodium reduction targets, front-of-pack labelling (FOPL), restriction of ultra-processed foods marketing to kids, among other sound healthy-food policies, are proven tools to lower Nigeria’s NCDs burden it said.
The statement urged Federal Government to dedicate revenues from taxes on tobacco, alcohol and other harmful products into health financing and initiatives such as NCD prevention and management.
“Dedicating these revenues to initiatives such as NCD prevention and management would provide the predictable funding Nigeria urgently needs, especially as the costs of treating diseases like diabetes continue to push families deeper into poverty.” It added.
CAPPA noted that its ongoing campaigns for an SSB tax of at least N130 per litre and mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling align with international evidence.
It emphasised that higher taxes reduce SSB consumption, encourage product reformulation, and generate revenue for health-sector investment, while front-of-pack labels empower consumers to make informed choices. Together, these measures shape healthier food environments and can shield Nigerians from the aggressive tactics of the big food industry.
