The World Bank has urged the Federal Government to impose special taxes on alcohol, cigarettes, and sugar-sweetened beverages to improve primary healthcare.
The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, made this call on Friday in Abuja at the special National Council on Health meeting organised by the Federal Ministry of Health.
He said, “If we want to improve healthcare in Nigeria, we need to tax the things that are killing us.
“The economic rationale for taxing these products is strong if we want to save lives and make a better and healthier Nigeria.”
Chaudhuri added that taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages would also reduce the health risks associated with their consumption and expand fiscal space for universal health coverage.
The country director stated that investing in a stronger health system for all would contribute to tackling rising poverty and inequality.
He added that health tax increases would produce the additional advantage of reducing future healthcare costs by curbing the growth of non-communicable diseases that tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-sweetened beverages can cause.
