Kenyan lawyer and policy expert Iddah Asin is the lobby’s first Executive Director for Africa.Nairobi has been picked as the base for an international
lobby for the soft drinks industry.
The International Council of Beverages Associations’ African chapter (ICBA Africa), now based in Nairobi, will be led by Kenyan
lawyer and policy expert Iddah Asin as its first Executive Director.
The lobby represents the interests of the non-alcoholic drinks industry on the continent.
The ICBA is a global industry group founded in 1995 that
brings together national beverage associations and multinational companies that
produce and market soft drinks, sports drinks, bottled water, juices, energy drinks
and ready-to-drink teas and coffees.
Its members include major international brands such as
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Red Bull, Monster Energy, Suntory, and national beverage
associations.
In a press statement, the ICBA said ICBA Africa would
“strengthen collaboration within the sector and through partnerships with
governments, civil society and other key stakeholders to share best practices,
support evidence-based policymaking and achieve shared goals.”
The organisation said it aims to promote “coherent approaches”
to health and environmental issues across its markets.
Iddah Asin has previously worked in government affairs roles
at Johnson & Johnson and Kenya Airways.
She said in a statement: “I’m truly honoured to become the
first Executive Director of ICBA Africa and to help the sector contribute to
positive outcomes on the continent and around the world, building from Africa’s
unique priorities and maximising our collective potential.”
The launch comes at a time when Africa is being viewed as a
growth market for sweetened and processed drinks, even as public health experts
warn of rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases
linked to high sugar consumption.
Kenya, for example, has seen increasing calls from health
advocates for stronger measures such as higher taxes on sugary beverages and
front-of-label nutritional warning labels.
ICBA President Andrés Massieu said the African office would
be a “valuable resource” for governments and other stakeholders.
“ Benefitting from Ms. Asin’s deep expertise in
public-private collaboration, health, and sustainability, we are confident that
ICBA Africa will be a valuable resource to governments and stakeholders
throughout the region and globally,” Andrés said.
The ICBA has been active in global policy arenas such as the
World Health Organization and Codex Alimentarius, where it has lobbied on
marketing standards, labelling regulations, and nutrition guidelines.
It has consistently opposed sugar tax policies, arguing they
harm industry and jobs, and produce “no meaningful” health benefits.
In 2017, it unsuccessfully lobbied the WHO to drop the sugar-sweetened beverage tax as a proposed intervention to curb non-communicable diseases in the WHO’s Global NCD Action Plan (2013-2030).
ICBA President Katherine Loatman requested that the WHO
revise the Draft Appendix to remove the tax from the proposed menu of policy
options.
“We have witnessed several researchers since 2014 claim that
‘modeling’ demonstrates that health outcomes will result from taxation – and
yet, here we are in 2022 and there are still no demonstrated positive health
outcomes from the selective taxation of a single beverage category in a
consumer’s diet,” she said.
“The bottom line is that this intervention will not
meaningfully help achieve the voluntary global targets for non-communicable
disease prevention and control that are identified in the WHO’s Global Action
Plan.”
The currently proposed Political Declaration on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health, which focuses on
strengthening commitments to reduce premature mortality from NCDs, promoting
mental health, and addressing risk factors and social determinants, has removed
reference to sugar-sweetened beverage taxes.
It will be adopted by the Heads of States at
the Fourth High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on NCDs and Mental Health next month.
Health experts are already complaining. “We are alarmed by
the softening of language on health taxes, including the removal of
sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes in the latest draft (Rev3). This
undermines existing commitments to proven, cost-effective interventions,” said
Alison Cox, director of policy and advocacy at the NCD Alliance.
She added: “While health-harming industries may oppose these
measures, it is crucial that the policymaking be protected from conflicts of
interest, particularly from alcohol, tobacco, and sugar-sweetened beverages, as
they are primary risk factors for NCDs.”
The Nairobi-based International Institute for Legislative
Affairs warns that voluntary industry measures never work in addressing high
sugar consumption, and that stronger, government-led regulation remains
essential.
The IILA is currently leading efforts to increase taxation
on sugary beverages in Kenya.
Its CEO, Celine Awuor, last year successfully lobbied for
Kenya to retain the annual inflation adjustment for sugar-sweetened beverages,
all tobacco products, and alcoholic beverages.
“Excise tax rates for tobacco, alcohol, and SSBs that make
these products less affordable and therefore drive down consumption will help
protect gains made in safeguarding the health of Kenyans,” she said.
More than 50 per cent of total hospital admissions and over
39 per cent of deaths annually in Kenya are attributed to NCDs, according to
the Ministry of Health.
“Unhealthy lifestyles are contributing to the rise in NCDs,
with tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) identified as major
risk factors,” Awuor said.