62 million Pakistanis will be diabetic by 2045 – Gov Should Increase Tax on Sugary Drinks -PANAH

Islamabad. Pakistan’s economy is facing serious challenges where debt and liabilities are skyrocketing. In this situation, the Ministry of Finance needs to be more strategic in its approach to meeting the revenue shortfall. An urgent increase of Federal Excise Duty on sugary drinks can help generate more than 60 billion Pak rupees to meet the revenue shortfall. The progressive tax increase can even potentially generate more than 100 billion Pak rupees from sugary drinks. The government needs money to spend on rehabilitation activities for the flood-affected population. Increasing the tax on sugary drinks can help bring some relief to the low-income population through social safety nets.

This was said by health and economic experts during a media session organized by Pakistan National Heart Association at a local hotel in Islamabad. Mr. Sana Ullah Ghumman General Secretary PANAH hosted the media briefing session. A large number of senior journalists, reports, civil society representatives, health professionals, and economic experts attended the session.

Ex chairman bait ul mal and MPA Punjab malik Zaheer abbas khokhar was the chief guest on the occasion.

Mr. Munawar Hussain, Consultant Food Policy Program at Global Health Advocacy incubator said that sugary drinks are not a necessity of life and their increased cost will not impact the common population. However, increasing the cost of fuels, energy, and agricultural commodities will directly impact everyone. Similarly, crops standing on thousands of acres have been badly affected by the current rain flooding. The Ministry of finance is planning to increase taxes on agriculture commodities and inputs which may add more challenges to the already vulnerable sector and can create serious threats to food security. He urged that Government should prioritize progressively increasing federal excise duty on sugary drinks and passing the pending health contribution bill submitted by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination to the cabinet. This could generate more than 100 billion pak rupees which may be spent to bring some relief to the flood-affected populations.

PANAH’sGeneral Secretary Mr. Sanahullah Ghaman briefed the participants about the PANAHs campaign on the harms of sugary drinks. He said that PANAH is not only working to raise awareness of the general public on the health harms of sugary drinks but it is also working with policymakers to reduce its consumption so that the burden of diseases can be reduced in the country and we can give a healthy Pakistan to the future generations.

He urged the Ministry of Finance and IMF not to increase fuel and energy prices as these will impact the lives of everyone. However, increasing the tax on sugary drinks is a win-win situation for government where the they can generate revenue and also reduce the disease burden.

Dr. Khawaja Masuood Ahmed National Coordinator at the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination said that the beverage industry is growing more than 12% annually and posing serious challenges to public health. The increased consumption of sugary drinks has made this country into a diabetic emergency where every third Pakistani adult is suffering from type 2 diabetes.

In addition, more than 10 million people are already pre-diabetic. If no immediate actions are taken by the government, through a holistic approach, the number of people living with diabetes in Pakistan will increase to 62 million by 2045.