'Unregulated adverts increasing unhealthy foods consumption'

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Kampala streets of late have become avenues of mainly fast food-related adverts. This is seen through the various billboards situated around school premises, roundabouts, highways and office premises, among others.

It is assumed that the location of the billboards is to lure whoever is near them to look out for the spot where the advertised foods or drink is stationed to have a taste of what is in the advert.

However, according to promoters of safe and healthy foods, such adverts tend to advertise food items, which range from soft drinks, that are full of industry sugars and other chemicals that are fuelling lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, among others. 

While the fast foods are full of too much salt that affects the kidney, fats that fuel the development of diabetes and hypertension among other diseases.

Benard Bwambale, the programme head of Global Consumer Centre (CONSENT), says the World Health Organisation non-communicable disease (NCDS) Uganda country profile of 2018, shows that NCDs in Uganda account for 33% of all deaths.

Despite the findings Bwambale, who was on Wednesday addressing the media on their role in Food Industry Interference at Piato Hotel in Kampala city, said the food industry in Uganda enjoys wide liberty in advertising and no regulations on what kind of foods are being advertised later on the labelling for the consumer to understand what they are exactly taking in.

“There is currently no effective law or policy in Uganda to aid realisation of the right to adequate food, especially prohibiting the food sector from promoting, advertising, or marketing unhealthy diets to children,” he said.

“As a result, Uganda has become a hub for foods high in trans-fat, salt and sugar without any restrictions on marketing. And this increases premature deaths among Ugandans by 22% from one of the four major NCDs,” he added.

His revelation was supported by Dr David Kabanda, the founding member and director of the Center for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT), who singled out examples of some of soft drinks on the Ugandan market, which proved that soft drinks have been produced using chemicals that are not beneficial to the human body.

“When you look at some soft drinks, they have ingredients in the bottle including one which says that the sugars that have been added in the drink are industrial and non-nutritive, meaning whatever is in that drink are chemicals that are not beneficial to the body,” Kabanda explained.

According to Kabanda, the food and sugar-sweetened beverages industry enjoys great commercial freedom with regard to goods, services, marketing, and food processing with no restriction or regulation for warning labelling.

He added that they currently do not have co-ordinated efforts to hold and support the stakeholders in the food and beverage sector to account. As a result, the false or misleading nutrition labelling of food products at local markets is prevalent.

“There is an urgent need to establish an effective regulatory framework for Ugandans to realise their right to food, including regulations like for front-of-pack warning labelling and restriction of marketing of unhealthy diets,” he added.

Other recommendations from other partners in the food safety campaign: CEFROHT, SEATINI, FIAN, CONSENT, include passing and launching of the Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM) that is not only evidence-based, but will promote healthy diets and prevent Non-Communicable Diseases.

The other recommendation is for policy makers to provide a legal justification for inclusion of evidence-based practices related to front-of-package warning labelling and complementary policies, including marketing restrictions and school feeding policies in the Uganda food and nutrition policy.