Tobacco usage hampering Nigeria’s SDGs attainment – NTCA

The Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance (NTCA) has said that continuous use and abuse of tobacco in Nigeria was undermining efforts to attain some key aspects of the country’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Chairman of NTCA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, at a briefing on ‘Effective Tobacco Control Funding in Nigeria’ yesterday in Abuja said that tobacco use has continued to impede the realisation of the SDGs, especially Goal 3 which had to do with good health and well-being.

He added that Goal 11 relating to sustainable cities and communities; Goal 12 that ensures responsible consumption and production, Goal 14 on life below water, and Goal 15 pertaining to sustenance of life on land are also negatively affected.

He regretted that allocation to tobacco control had plunged by 50 per cent to N4.7m in 2023, from N9.4m of the previous year, thereby slowing down tobacco control activities in the country.

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“Nigeria adopted the SDGs and integrated them into her development framework since the launch of the SDGs in 2015. While optimistic analysts may argue that some progress has been made towards the attainment of the goals, it is undeniable that we are still a long way from hitting the mark,” Oluwafemi said.

He recalled that during the recently concluded 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, USA, it was evident that only 15 percent of the SDGs are on track to meet the target, necessitating calls for cash and commitments from member nations to rescue the stalled development goals.

He said that persistent advocacies have been made for the allocation to the health sector to reach the recommended 15 percent to address critical deficits.

He said that NTCA expects that as National Assembly members resume deliberations on the 2024 Appropriation Bill, they would pay close attention to the proposed budget for Tobacco Control, and significantly increase the amount to deal with myriad issues occasioned by tobacco use.