USING THE REGULATORY AND LEGAL TOOLS TO PREVENT NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NCDS) AND PROMOTING HEALTHY DIETS THROUGH LEGAL EMPOWERMENT AND SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS, USING HUMAN RIGHTS-BASED, PARTICIPATORY, MULTI-SECTORAL APPROACHES.

Workshop Audience: Officials from Kampala Capital City Authority as well as representatives from Ministry of Health, Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries, Ministry of Trade and Cooperatives, Ministry of Education and Sports, Uganda Broadcasting Service, Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Office of the Prime Minister and National Planning Authority.

CONTEXT AND PROBLEM

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 74% of all fatalities globally and include diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, and chronic lung disease. Although these illnesses are frequently linked to older age groups, data indicates that 17 million deaths from NCDs happen before the age of 70. It is estimated that 86% of these premature deaths take place in low- and middle-income nations. All age groups are susceptible to the risk factors that lead to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including physical inactivity, bad eating habits, exposure to tobacco smoke, and excessive alcohol consumption. The NCD epidemic threatens to overwhelm health systems and has terrible health effects on people, families, and communities. The socioeconomic toll that noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) impose make illness prevention and control a major development imperative for the 21st century^[1].

The prevalence of NCDs is rapidly increasing in Uganda[2]. This rise has been made possible by the lax enforcement of food laws, human rights laws, and other regulations as well as by community and individual habits and lifestyle factors that many Ugandans are stuck with. These include, but are not limited to, unhealthy diets, rising rates of physical inactivity, harmful alcohol and tobacco use, and substance abuse^[3]. Therefore, the prevention of NCDs is a growing issue; thus, tackling the risk factors will not only save lives; but also provide a huge boost for the economic development of countries[4] .

With funding from the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the Center for Food and Adequate Living Rights (CEFROHT) is implementing the second phase of a project: “To promote healthy diets and physical activity through legal empowerment and social accountability mechanisms, using human rights-based, participatory, and multi-sectoral approach.” Through collaborating across sectors and involving communities, the project seeks to assist the creation of an enabling environment that is favorable to measures that promote healthy diets and physical exercise.

CEFROHT will therefore engage officials from Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and officials from the relevant Ministries and government agencies to discuss consumer protection bill,  the role of K.C.C.A in regulation of marketing of unhealthy diets to children in Kampala Capital City as well as the strategies and plans on promotion of physical activity as regulatory and fiscal measures towards prevention of NCDs.

The workshop is scheduled on February 15^th, 2024, at Piato Restaurant in Kampala from 9am. Participating professionals will include all representatives as described under “workshop audience” above.

Justification.

Kampala City is an epicenter of aggressive unhealthy food marketing on radio, billboards, television and social media. Children and teenagers are becoming more and more averse to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and fast foods as a result. The primary cause of childhood obesity and overweight in Uganda is the increased marketing of unhealthy foods that are high in trans fats, salt, artificial additives, and sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs). This has encouraged a shift in eating habits away from plant-based diets and toward highly processed foods. Studies in Uganda have indicated high prevalence of obesity (32.3%) and overweight (21.7%) among school children and higher prevalence among those in private schools (16.6%) compared to those in public schools (11.5%)[5].

As more people—including children—have access to cellphones, social media platforms, and the internet, digital advertising has increased. With the growth of food delivery services, ordering is now as simple as swiping a figure. For children and teens, unhealthy diets and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are now more affordable (processed beverages can be purchased for as little as 500/=). Marketers are making a great effort to convince children and teens that these are the meals and beverages they simply must have. In one of their ads, soda drinkers are shown as ninjas who ride strong motorcycles and jump over barriers which is false.

When it comes to children’s understanding of nutrition, preferences, purchasing behavior, consumption patterns, and diet-related health, such exposure to and influence by the food business is detrimental. When they get older, for example, they are likely to maintain the consumption habits they developed when they were younger.

As a result, CEFROHT hosted several workshops with Ministry of Health, CSOs, judicial officers, legal officers from the Uganda Law Society and the Uganda Human Rights Commission to find legal solutions to the problem. The duty bearers, judicial, legal and human rights practitioners indicated that there’s an urgent need to safeguard the health of children in an era of aggressive marketing, and regulatory measures should be implemented to restrict the marketing of unhealthy foods on platforms easily accessible to children.

Some of these suggestions included; reaching out to K.C.C.A to restrict marketing of unhealth foods and SSBs in Kampala schools starting with its schools, phase-out school sign posts with adverts promoting unhealthy foods and SSBs, as well as restrict billboards promoting unhealthy diets near schools. The other suggestion was to fast-track progress on the formulation of consumer protection bill.

Main objective of the meeting:

To support K.C.C.A come-up with regulatory measures that restrict marketing of unhealthy diets to children in schools around Kampala

Specific Objectives:

• To increase the participants’ reflection on their role in promoting, upholding and adjudicating legal, fiscal and regulatory measures in promoting and protecting the right to health and right to adequate food.
• To support the formulation of Kampala School Circular that prohibits unhealthy diets & SSBs in school canteens, sponsorship by food industry that promote unhealthy diets, school sign posts with adverts promoting unhealthy foods and SSBs, as well as billboards promoting unhealthy diets near schools.
• To develop a collaborative between CEFROHT & K.C.C.A plus other partners on promotion of healthy diets awareness in Kampala schools

The meeting is set to begin at 9:00 am and conclude at 1:00 pm, with a maximum of 40 minutes allotted for the main discussion topics.

MEETING AGENDA:

1. Arrival and registration of participants
2. Opening prayer
3. Opening remarks from Executive Director – CEFROHT
4. Discussion on the role of the duty bearers in promoting and upholding legal, fiscal and regulatory measures in promoting and protecting the right to health and right to adequate food. – Modulator
5. Consumer protection bill status – Commissioner from Ministry of Trade & Cooperatives
6. C.C.A strategies and plans on promotion of physical activity – K.C.C.A
7. Plenary on formulation of Kampala School Circular & establishment of healthy diets awareness collaborative
8. Way forward
9. Closing prayer
10. Lunch and departure

[1] Ibid.

[2] Ministry of Health press release: The status of NCDs in Uganda, 15 April 2021.

[3] Ibid.

[4]WHO-FAO: ICN2 – hidden hunger

[5] https://www.longdom.org/proceedings/the-underestimated-problem-of-obesity-among-children-in-subsaharan-africa-ssa-a-case-of-uganda-and-south-africa-43761.html