Ghana NCD Alliance urges Government to allocate 50% of Excise Duties tax revenue for NCD interventions

National Coordinator for the Ghana Non-Communicable Disease Alliance (GhNCDA), Labram Musah, has called on the Government to allocate 50% of tax revenues mobilized from the Excise Duties on tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) for targeted interventions on NCDs in the country.

According to Musah, the mobilized funds from the tax revenues are needed for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and education of NCDs among the Ghanaian populace.

The Government should allocate at least 50% of tax revenues mobilized from the Excise Duty on tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) for targeted interventions on NCDs.

“This will help enormously in the fight against NCDs and ultimately lead to the reduction in NCDs in the country,” he quipped speaking at a Capacity-building Seminar for Media Professionals and Civil Society on NCD and UHC on Friday, April 25, 2024.

The Excise Duty Amendment Act (ACT 1093) passed in March 2023 and implemented in May 2023, aims to generate substantial revenue while concurrently reducing the consumption of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and SSBs.

The revised legislation since its passage, has resulted in a 20% increase in taxes on alcoholic products and sugar-sweetened beverages. For tobacco products, an ad valorem rate of 50% or more on the value and a specific tax rate required to be a minimum equivalent of two cents per stick and the cedi equivalent of $20 per net kilo have been imposed on tobacco products.

According to the GRA, some GHS 455m in additional tax revenues was expected to be raked in from excise duties in 2023.

Speaking further at the Capacity-building Seminar for Media Professionals and Civil Society on NCD and UHC, Mr Musah averred the GhNCDA is currently undertaking an assessment of the tax revenues raked in by the Government since the implementation of the Excise Duty Act over a year ago.

It has been one year since the implementation of the Excise Duty Act and at the moment the GhNCDA is assessing how much money has been mobilized from the tax and we will soon come out with the figure,” he added.

The Capacity-building Seminar for Media Professionals and Civil Society on NCD and UHC by the GhNCDA aims to equip media professionals, CSOs, and persons living with NCDs with the requisite knowledge to comprehend the nexus between NCDs and UHC in the lead-up to the 2nd Global Financing Dialogue (2GFD) on NCDs and Mental Health.

The training seminar, themed “Accelerating UHC through the 2nd Global Dialogue on NCDs and Mental Health” aims to outline actionable national strategies and policy recommendations conducive to integrating NCDs and mental health within national health financing systems.

More importantly, the training is expected to instigate media discussions to ensure that the government is adequately prepared with the right information to attend the 2GFD.

The forthcoming 2nd Global Financing Dialogue (2GFD) aims to delineate actionable national strategies and formulate policy recommendations conducive to integrating NCDs and mental health within national health financing systems. The meeting is expected to explore the provision of adequate, and sustained resource mobilization, through domestic, bilateral, regional, and multilateral channels, including traditional and voluntary innovative financing mechanisms, and to take measures to develop and implement national policies and plans, with financial and human resources allocated particularly to addressing NCD.

Ghana has demonstrated a heightened commitment to UHC by launching the Ghana Roadmap for Attaining Universal Health Coverage 2020-2030, to enhance access to quality essential healthcare and population-based services for all its citizens by 2030.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the realization of UHC remains incomplete, with approximately half of the global population lacking access to essential health services. Moreover, an alarming statistic reveals that around 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty annually due to out-of-pocket health expenses.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has acknowledged the significance of addressing NCDs and mental health, aiming to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one-third and promote mental health and well-being by 2030. This inclusion marks a pivotal step towards rallying efforts for a comprehensive approach to tackle these pressing developmental challenges of the 21st century.

NCDs, constituting 74% of all deaths globally and 46% of total deaths in Ghana highlight the urgency of action. Similarly, mental disorders, which affect one in six years lived with disability worldwide, necessitate concerted attention.

Regrettably, progress in addressing NCDs and mental health conditions has decelerated since the onset of the SDGs era in 2015, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Investments in NCDs and mental health are imperative to achieve UHC and the SDGs targets.

The WHO notes that countries harbour the potential to realize the global SDG 3.4 target (reduce by one-third premature mortality from NCD through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being) and advance towards UHC for individuals with NCDs and mental health conditions.