Module 8 - Global Outlook and Perspectives on the SSB Tax and Industry Tactics to Dilute Health Policies

Course Overview

Global Outlook and Perspectives on the SSB Tax and Industry Tactics to Dilute Health Policies interrogates how sugar-sweetened beverage taxes have evolved across regions and how corporate actors respond when profits are threatened. The course situates SSB taxation within the broader political economy of public health reform, tracing lessons from Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and North America.

FAQ

SSBs include soft drinks, sweetened juices, energy drinks, flavored dairy drinks, sweetened teas and coffees, powdered drink mixes, and beverages containing added sugar or non-sugar sweeteners.

SSB taxes are recommended by the World Health Organization as a cost-effective strategy to:
* Reduce consumption of unhealthy beverages
* Prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
* Generate government revenue
* Promote health equity

Evidence from Mexico, Peru, Chile, and cities in the United States shows no unbiased documented link between SSB taxes and significant job losses in the beverage industry.

Large beverage corporations perceive SSB taxes as a threat to profits and market share. As a result, they deploy strategies to weaken, delay, or reframe tax policies.

* Public health professionals
* Nutrition advocates
* Civil society organizations
* Policymakers
* Researchers
* Students in public health, economics, or policy studies

Course Videos

Instructor

Joy Oyinmiebi Amafah-Isaac

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Joy is an accomplished public health professional with over ten years of experience advancing health policy and program implementation in Nigeria. She currently serves as the Nigeria Coordinator for Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI’s) Food Policy and Nutrition Programs, where she leads activities across a coalition of civil society organizations, non-governmental organisations, government ministries, departments, agencies, and multilateral partners. In this role, she provides strategic leadership and technical assistance to promote healthy food policies aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality from noncommunicable diseases in line with global best practices. Previously, she has also overseen public health programs for the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Nigeria, focusing on HIV and other infectious diseases. Her work has included coordinating grant funding and implementing innovative initiatives that strengthen public and community health outcomes across the country.