Activate tobacco control fund, alliance tells FG

The Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) has urged the Federal Government to operationalise the Tobacco Control Fund (TCF).

The Chairman of the alliance, Mr. Akinbode Oluwafemi, who made the call on Thursday in Abuja, at a media briefing, said the fund will reduce the impact of tobacco in the country.

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According to him, Nigeria is one of the 182 parties to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) who have pledged to take action to reduce the impact of tobacco in their countries. Sustainable funding is critical to pursuing this objective.

“This is what informed the inclusion of the provision to establish a Tobacco Control Fund in the NTC Act, 2015 (in Nigeria), to ensure the protection of public health from the destructive effects of tobacco in Nigeria,” Oluwafemi said.

He recalled that on 28th June, during the ministerial press briefing commemorating the 2022 World No Tobacco Day, the Federal Ministry of Health, through the Permanent Secretary, who was represented by the National Coordinator, Non-Communicable Disease Division, promised to make the Tobacco Control Fund fully operational within one month.

“However, we are no longer at ease as it is now over two months since that pledge was made without any sign of fulfillment. The continued delay in the operationalization of the TCF is tantamount to self-injury on the Federal Government. Revenue which should accrue to the fund from the issuance of licenses to tobacco manufacturers and distributors is being lost.

“Also, the unavailability of an operational account for the payment of licensing fees makes the operations of tobacco manufacturers, importers and distributors in the country illegal, as the companies have no licenses to back their operations,” he said.

He lamented that the tobacco industry with its awful public health implications is indirectly granted a ‘license-free-holiday’ and is allowed to operate in Nigeria without licenses because of government’s continued failure to operationalized the fund.

“The tobacco industry has continued to dangle monies before the government in the guise of corporate social responsibility. The Tobacco Control Fund will give the government the impetus to do what it needs to do and to call the bluff of the ‘Greek gift’ from the Tobacco Industry.

“The Federal Ministry of Health as the primary executor of the National Tobacco Control Act must step up to its responsibility and make the Tobacco Control Fund fully operational as soon as possible,” he said.

He urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Ministry of Finance, and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation to also play their roles in the setting up of the account to ensure that the revenue loss is closed, and the Fund is running as prescribed by the NTC Act, 2015.

Also, the Research Associate, Centre for the Study of the Economies of Africa, Mr. Austine Iraoya, said the inability to operationalize tobacco control funds by the government gives the tobacco industries a free-for-all process and it promotes illegal manufacturing and sales of tobacco in the country.

The event was attended by Chibuike Nwokorie, Programme Officer, NTCA; Peter Unekwu, Technical Consultan, Management Sciences for Health; Solomon Adoga, Project Officer, CISLAC, and Austine Iraoye, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for the Studies of Economies of Africa among others.