Experts call for better food governance to combat non-communicable diseases

Experts on Tuesday called for better food governance to tackle the issue of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), stressing that NCDs compromised the food security of a state.

Speaking at a seminar held by the Islamabad Food Authority (IFA) and the Centre for Governance and Public Accountability (CGPA), Public Health Expert dr Shakeel Mirza emphasised the importance of fiscal policies such as increasing taxes to 50 per cent on ultra-processed foods and diverting the revenue to healthcare services.

“Food governance is closely linked with effectiveness of health policy frameworks,” he said, adding that if the food had “dietary risks”, it compromised the food security of a state.

According to a press release, NCDs were responsible for 65 per cent of premature deaths in the country, while more than 33 million were diabetic and 10 million more were pre-diabetic.

The press release said the dietary risk factors included high consumption of sodium, oils and fats along with high quantity of trans fats and free sugar which were especially found in ultra-processed foods such as chips, burgers, processed frozen foods etc.

Dr Yusra Gillani, a disability rights campaigner talked about the predicaments of people with disabilities (PWDs).

She stressed the need to ensure integrated care services that address both the disability and the NCD needs of women with disabilities.

“PWDs especially the women are the most vulnerable yet neglected segments of society who need better healthcare management especially when they need screening and treatment services to manage NCDs such as diabetes, obesity, and cancer,” she added.

Zubair Faisal Abbasi, advisor on public policies for CGPA, said that the country showed serious gaps and lapses in food governance.

“There is a strong need to update the mandatary standards about the composition of ingredients in manufactured foods, easy to understand front of packet labelling related mandatary requirements, and efforts to increase food diversity as well as nutritional density of foods,” he said while talking about the availability of safe and nutritious foods for health security.

Meanwhile, Dr Lubna Naz, director at the Centre for Business and Economic Research at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), said that Pakistan was a victim of a double whammy of diseases.

“We were not able to effectively control communicable diseases, but now non-communicable diseases are taking their toll chopping off people’s incomes, and sending people into income losses, and poverty traps,” she said.

She added that the country needed to take the “political economy approach to governance solutions and our emphasis should be more on following the health policy agenda than just revenue generation model”.

Other participants in the policy seminar also shared their views and said that Pakistan must develop its policy framework such as fiscal policies related to taxation, subsidies, and healthcare expenditures which are pro-health.

Dr Uzair Ahson said: “Pakistan needs to subsidise healthy foods for the poor rather than ghee and sugar during the Ramzan packages announcement.

“Similarly, government procurement mechanisms must by policy discourage higher quantity use of dietary risk factors.”