Taxation of Beverages and Sweetened Products in Morocco: A Major Achievement and a Model to Follow In the Mena Region.

The analysis of the various reports of the epidemiological situation of obesity and diabetes in Morocco with in particular the reports of the WHO, the High Commission for Planning of Morocco (HCP) and the report of the American Mc Kinsey Study Bureau in 2014, shows a sharp increase in diabetes, obesity and their morbidity and mortality. With a Moroccan population of 35 million inhabitants in 2017, the number of people with diabetes (2.5 million), pre-diabetes (2.4 million), obesity (3.6 million), overweight (10 million including 63% of women and 16% of children) is alarming. The consequences in terms of morbidity and mortality and direct and indirect health costs through reduced productivity for the economy of Morocco and for society as a whole are very high. Total annual expenditure related to obesity amounts to $ 2.4 billion, or 3% of Morocco's GDP. The causes of this increase in obesity and diabetes are closely linked to profound changes in lifestyle: high-calorie diet rich in fast sugars, reduction in physical activity, etc. This is how it is demonstrated that too much consumption of sugary drinks is harmful to weight maintenance, metabolic balance and cardiovascular health. Conversely in many experiments around the world, the number of people with overweight and a risk of diabetes decreases significantly when the reduction of refined sugars is carried out by several preventive measures including increasing the tax on sodas, juices and other sugary drinks. The members of the Working Group who have been working together for several years in Morocco on the “Taxation of sweet products” within the framework of the Moroccan League for the Fight against Diabetes and the Moroccan Society of Nutrition, Health and Environment, have carried out multiple actions advocacy and sensitization with the government, the ministry of health, the parliament, the university, civil society and the media. The soda tax was finally adopted by the Moroccan Parliament in the 2019 finance bill. A first in the Middle East and North Africa region. In December 2019, a new acquisition was made during the discussion of the Finance Law Project (FLP) 2020 by the introduction of a progressive Internal Consumption Tax (ICT) on sugary drinks in proportion to their sugar concentration. The aim is to encourage manufacturers to reduce the sugar content of sugary drinks and energy drinks to avoid over-taxation. On the other hand, the support recently given in 2020 by the National Council of Human Rights of Morocco to this tax constitutes a very large acquisition, with a new institutional and socio-cultural dimension of human rights for the preservation health in Morocco. Members of the working group will continue their efforts to extend this tax to all products containing a significant amount of sugar. The same is true for other toxic products such as salt, fat and tobacco. Keywords: Diabetes, Obesity, Prevention, Tax soda, Morocco

Download Full-text

Seven-year trends in the availability, sugar content and serve size of single-serve non-alcoholic beverages in New Zealand: 2013–2019

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980020005030 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-13

Author(s):

Teresa Gontijo de Castro ◽

Helen Eyles ◽

Cliona Ni Mhurchu ◽

Leanne Young ◽

Sally Mackay

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Sugar Content ◽

Food Composition ◽

Soft Drinks ◽

Alcoholic Beverages ◽

Slight Reduction ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Sweetened Beverages ◽

Sugary Drinks ◽

High Sugar Content

Abstract Objective: To assess trends in relative availability, sugar content and serve size of ready-to-drink non-alcoholic beverages available for sale in supermarkets from 2013 to 2019. Design: Repeat cross-sectional surveys. Data on single-serve beverages to be consumed in one sitting were obtained from an updated brand-specific food composition database. Trends in beverages availability and proportions with serve size ≤ 250 ml were assessed by χ2 tests. Sugar content trends were examined using linear regressions. The proportion of beverages exceeding the sugar threshold of the United Kingdom Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) was assessed. Setting: New Zealand. Results: From 2013 to 2019, there was (i) an increase in the availability of sugar-free/low-sugar beverages (n 25 (8·4 %) to n 75 (19·1 %); P < 0·001) and craft sugar-sweetened soft drinks (n 11 (3·7 %) to n 36 (9·2 %); P < 0·001), and a decrease in availability of fruit/vegetable juices/drinks (n 94 (31·8 %) to n 75 (19·4 %); P < 0·001); (ii) small decreases in sugar content (mean g/100 ml) of sugar-sweetened soft drinks (3·03; 95 % CI 3·77, 2·29); fruit/vegetable juices/drinks (1·08; 95 % CI 2·14, 0·01) and energy drinks (0·98; 95 % CI 1·63, 0·32) and (iii) slight reduction in the proportion of beverages with serve size ≤ 250 ml (21·6 to 18·9 %; P < 0·001). In 2019, most beverages were sugar-sweetened or had naturally occurring sugars (79·1 %) and serve size > 250 ml (81·1 %) and most sugar-sweetened beverages exceeded the SDIL lower benchmark (72·9 %). Conclusions: Most single-serve beverages available for sale in 2019 were sugary drinks with high sugar content and large serve sizes; therefore, changes made across the years were not meaningful for population’s health.

Download Full-text

Nomadic Peoples and Alternate Conceptions of Place

Fully Human ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190918262.003.0006 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 129-149

Author(s):

Lindsey N. Kingston

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Human Rights ◽

Property Rights ◽

Natural Resources ◽

Basic Needs ◽

State Governments ◽

Mena Region ◽

Cultural Survival ◽

Community Membership ◽

Freedom Of Movement

Under pressure from sedentary majority populations, nomadic peoples face serious threats to their cultural survival and livelihood. Nomadic groups have long faced suspicion and discrimination—as illustrated by the ongoing marginalization of European Roma and Travellers, the Maasai of Tanzania and Kenya, and the Bedouin of the MENA region—and modern societies tend to see human rights, including the basic rights of freedom of movement and property rights, through a lens that privileges settlement. Indeed, nomadic peoples are often viewed with suspicion and excluded from the citizenry because they move “too much” and do not conform to majority views related to settlement, land use, and community membership. This bias leaves nomadic peoples without functioning citizenship in regard to state governments, who fail to understand their basic needs and perspectives. Resulting rights abuses center not only on rights to land and natural resources but also on cultural and political expression.

Download Full-text

The Role of Non-Governmental Organizations in the Business and Human Rights Treaty Negotiations

Journal of Human Rights Practice ◽

10.1093/jhuman/hux011 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 287-311 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Nadia Bernaz ◽

Irene Pietropaoli

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Working Group ◽

Corporate Accountability ◽

Governmental Organizations ◽

Business And Human Rights ◽

Non Governmental Organizations ◽

Treaty Negotiations ◽

Global Movement ◽

The Impact

AbstractIn June 2014, the UN Human Rights Council established an intergovernmental working group to elaborate a treaty on business and human rights. In July 2015, the working group held its first session launching the negotiations process—the culmination of a global movement of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that over the last four decades have called for greater corporate accountability for human rights violations. The advocacy activities of the Treaty Alliance, an alliance of NGOs that supports the development of the treaty, were pivotal to the tabling of the resolution establishing the working group. These organizations now have the opportunity to engage with the negotiations process, both formally and informally, through consultations, advocacy, and lobbying. This article considers the impact NGOs may have in the drafting negotiations of the proposed treaty. It identifies several lobbying and advocacy strategies that were successful in previous international law-making processes and discusses the extent to which they could be applied to the current negotiations. It presents the benefits of an NGO coalition, of formal and informal lobbying strategies, and of the development of a common NGOs and friendly states framework. It analyses the reasons for Western states’ opposition and suggests lobbying strategies that may overcome it. Recognizing the unique subject matter of this treaty, it also focuses on lobbying corporate actors, and explores the complementarity between the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the treaty and the need for NGOs to support both. The article concludes on the necessity to compromise on essential points if a treaty is ever to emerge.

Download Full-text