Branded CSR Deepening Nigeria’s Non-Communicable Diseases Burden, Expert Warns

Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has raised the alarm over what it describes as the aggressive promotion of sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods by food and beverage companies under the guise of corporate social responsibility (CSR), warning that the practice is worsening Nigeria’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The Executive Director of CAPPA, Mr Oluwafemi Akinbode, disclosed this on Tuesday at a news briefing where the organisation presented findings from its new report titled “Unhealthy Food Hijack of Festive Periods in Nigeria.”

Akinbode stressed that festive seasons should be periods that promote nourishment, wellbeing, and genuine social connection, not times that come with hidden health costs for households.

He, however, lamented that the food and beverage industry has increasingly turned festive periods into high-impact marketing windows, using them to push sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods to consumers.

According to him, this trend is particularly troubling as Nigeria is already grappling with a severe non-communicable disease crisis, with cases of hypertension, stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes continuing to rise across the country.

He added that the situation is further compounded by limited and expensive access to diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care for affected Nigerians.

“As ultra-processed foods increasingly displace traditional diets, households are pushed into cycles of illness, out-of-pocket health spending, and poverty,” Akinbode said.

“An underfunded health system then absorbs the consequences of marketing decisions made in corporate boardrooms.”

Highlighting key findings from the report, Akinbode explained that although the study focused on the 2025 Christmas and 2026 New Year festive season, the practices observed were not new.

“They reflect a pattern repeated year after year, with increasing sophistication and reach,” he said.

“What we observed was not just seasonal celebration, but deliberate market expansion. Festive periods were treated as opportunities to intensify brand visibility, associate unhealthy products with social meaning, and drive consumption at scale.”

He noted that the campaigns were highly coordinated, involving heavy investments in outdoor branding, sponsored events, market activations, school and community donations, as well as targeted digital advertising.

“The common thread was not festive imagery itself, but the strategic use of cultural and religious moments to normalise frequent consumption of products high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats,” Akinbode said.

He added that marketing messages consistently linked such products to togetherness, generosity, celebration, and even moral virtue, especially within low-income communities.

The report further revealed that many companies were deploying CSR activities as marketing tools, a tactic Akinbode likened to strategies historically used by tobacco firms.

He said food and beverage companies were making donations to schools, churches, and communities, not as acts of genuine charity, but as a means of advertising unhealthy products and securing public goodwill.

According to him, the impact of these practices is uneven, with children, young people, and low-income households being the most exposed and least protected, yet bearing the highest health and financial costs when diet-related illnesses emerge.

Akinbode urged the government to introduce comprehensive and legally binding restrictions on the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of unhealthy food and beverage products, particularly during festive periods.

“Industry self-regulation has failed. These mechanisms have largely functioned as public relations tools rather than meaningful safeguards,” he said.

He specifically recommended a ban on branded CSR activities by food and beverage companies in schools, religious institutions, markets, and other public or community spaces.

“Donations tied to brand visibility are not acts of charity. They are indirect advertising strategies that exploit trust, culture, and faith while promoting products that undermine public health,” he added.

The CAPPA executive also called for a strengthened sugar-sweetened beverage tax set at 50 per cent of the retail price of targeted drinks, with revenues transparently earmarked for non-communicable disease prevention, treatment, and health system strengthening.

He said mandatory front-of-pack warning labels and enforceable restrictions on marketing to children should complement this.

Akinbode further noted that regulatory agencies require more resources, stricter penalties, and tougher sanctions, including fines, licence suspensions, and public naming of erring companies, to effectively curb misconduct.

He emphasised that Nigeria must act decisively to regulate its food environment in the public interest.

Akinbode disclosed that CAPPA monitored marketing activities across physical spaces such as malls, parks, open markets, transport hubs, and places of worship, as well as across digital platforms, in producing the report. (NAN)