By Oluwafunke Ishola
An NGO, Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) is worried that sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods are being promoted during festive seasons, worsening Nigeria’s burden of non-communicable diseases.
Its Executive Director, Oluwafemi Akinbode, made the disclosure on Tuesday during a news briefing detailing CAPPA’s findings published in its new report – ‘Unhealthy Food Hijack of Festive Periods in Nigeria’.
Akinbode emphasised that festive seasons should not come with hidden health costs, saying the period should support nourishment, wellbeing, and genuine social connection.
He, however, lamented that the food and beverage industry uses festive periods as high-impact marketing windows to promote sugary drinks and ultra-processed foods.
This, he said, was concerning as Nigeria is already battling a severe non-communicable disease crisis with rates of hypertension, stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes continuing to rise.
Akinbode added that the situation was exacerbated as access to diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care remained limited and expensive.
“As ultra-processed foods increasingly displace traditional diets, households are pushed into cycles of illness, out-of-pocket health spending, and poverty.
“An underfunded health system absorbs the consequences of marketing decisions made in boardrooms.”
Highlighting findings from the report, Akinbode said the focus was on the 2025 Christmas and 2026 New Year season, however, he said the practices documented were not new.
“They reflect a pattern repeated year after year, with increasing sophistication and reach.
“What we observed was not just a seasonal celebration but deliberate market expansion.
“Festive periods were treated as opportunities to intensify brand visibility, associate unhealthy products with social meaning, and drive consumption at scale.
“These campaigns were highly coordinated. Companies invested heavily in outdoor branding, sponsored events, market activations, school and community donations, and targeted digital advertising.
“The common thread was not festive imagery itself, but the strategic use of cultural and religious moments to normalise frequent consumption of products high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats.
“Messages consistently linked these products to togetherness, generosity, celebration, and even moral virtue, particularly within low-income communities.”
The report revealed companies were using corporate social responsibility as a marketing tool, similar to tactics used by tobacco firms.
Akinbode said they were donating to schools, churches, and communities, but really just advertising their unhealthy products and gaining goodwill.
He stressed that the impact was uneven, noting that children, young people, and low-income households were the most exposed and the least protected, yet they bore the highest health and financial costs when diet-related illnesses emerged.
He urged the government to introduce comprehensive and legally binding restrictions on the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of unhealthy food and beverage products, particularly during festive periods.
“Industry self-regulation has failed. They have functioned largely as public relations tools rather than meaningful safeguards.”
He recommended a ban on branded corporate social responsibility activities by food and beverage companies in schools, religious institutions, markets, and other public or community spaces.
“Donations tied to brand visibility are not acts of charity. They are indirect advertising strategies that exploit trust, culture, and faith while promoting products that undermine public health.”
He called for a strengthened sugar-sweetened beverage tax set at 50 per cent of the retail price of targeted drinks, with revenues transparently earmarked for non-communicable disease prevention, treatment, and health system strengthening.
“This must be complemented by mandatory front-of-pack warning labels and enforceable restrictions on marketing to children.”
Akinbode suggested that regulatory bodies needed more resources, stricter penalties, and tougher sanctions – like fines, licence suspensions, and public naming – to stop companies from misconduct.
He emphasised that Nigeria must act decisively to regulate its food environment in the public interest.
Akinbode disclosed that CAPPA monitored marketing activities across physical spaces such as malls, parks, open markets, transport hubs, and places of worship, as well as across digital platforms to form the report. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Vivian Ihechu
