Ghanaian Nutrition Expert Urges Tax on Junk Food

ACCRA, GHANA — To combat rising chronic disease rates across West Africa, a ghanaian nutrition expert urges tax interventions on ultra-processed foods while using the generated revenues to subsidize fresh produce.

Prof. Anna Lartey, former Director of Nutrition at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and current professor at the University of Ghana, presented the proposal during a scientific symposium at the West Africa Genetic Medicine Centre in Legon, as reported by the Ghana News Agency. The event marked the 60th anniversary of the Nestlé Foundation.

Lartey outlined a four-part policy framework: taxing junk food, restricting junk food advertising targeted at children, implementing mandatory front-of-pack warning labels, and redirecting tax revenues to lower fruit and vegetable prices.

Key Policy Recommendations for Public Health and Nutrition

As this ghanaian nutrition expert urges tax policy reform, her framework targets four interconnected areas of food environment regulation:

Policy Intervention	Core Strategy & Regulatory Objective	Intended Public Health Impact
Ultra-Processed Food Tax	Excise tax levied on junk foods and sugar-sweetened beverages.	Raise prices to disincentivize consumption of energy-dense foods.
Produce Subsidies	Tax revenues earmarked directly for fruit and vegetable supply chains.	Lower the retail cost of healthy, minimally processed whole foods.
Marketing Restrictions	Bans on advertising unhealthy food products to children and adolescents.	Reduce marketing exposure and prevent early dietary preference formation.
Front-of-Pack Labeling	Clear warning indicators for excessive salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats.	Inform consumers at point of purchase to support healthier choices.

Correcting Market Incentives in West African Food Systems

Prof. Lartey emphasized that market forces currently work against public health. As supermarkets and packaged food brands expand in West African urban centers, energy-dense, shelf-stable foods have become significantly cheaper and more accessible than fresh produce, which suffers from high transport costs and cold-chain losses.

Balancing Fiscal Measures to Support Lower-Income Households

Because a ghanaian nutrition expert urges tax policies that directly alter food pricing, public health specialists stress the importance of earmarking tax revenues. Because food excise taxes can place a heavier financial burden on low-income families, redirecting those funds into fruit and vegetable subsidies helps offset costs for vulnerable households.

Ghana is confronting a growing burden of noncommunicable diseases, prompting the Ghana Health Service to prioritize chronic care within its primary healthcare initiatives. Lartey’s proposals align with broader regional calls—such as recent advocacy in Nigeria demanding sodium limits and warning labels—to address systemic dietary drivers of chronic disease.

Why It Matters: When ultra-processed junk food is cheaper than fresh fruit, low-income households prioritize affordable calories; taxing processed items while subsidizing fresh produce corrects a major public health imbalance.

 

 

Source: Ghana News Agency Report, September 28, 2026