Nairobi: The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a call to governments worldwide to significantly increase taxes on sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages, highlighting that weak tax systems are undermining public health efforts and straining health systems.

According to Kenya News Agency, the affordability of sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages is on the rise due to consistently low tax rates in most countries. This trend is contributing to an increase in obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancers, and injuries, especially among children and young adults.

The WHO's call to action coincided with the release of two global reports: the Global Report on the Use of Alcohol Taxes, 2025 and the Global Report on the Use of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes, 2025. The reports caution that insufficient health taxes are allowing harmful products to remain inexpensive, while governments face challenges in financing responses to preventable non-communicable diseases and injuries.

During a webinar, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized that increasing taxes on products harmful to health, such as tobacco, sugary drinks, and alcohol, can reduce consumption while generating revenue for essential health services. He stated, 'Health taxes are one of the strongest tools we have for promoting health and preventing disease.'

WHO pointed out that the global market for sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages generates substantial profits, yet governments capture only a small portion of this value through health-motivated taxes. This leaves societies to bear the health and economic costs associated with excessive consumption.

The reports reveal that at least 116 countries currently tax sugary drinks, predominantly carbonated soft drinks. However, many other high-sugar products, such as 100 percent fruit juices, sweetened milk drinks, and ready-to-drink coffees and teas, remain largely untaxed.

While 97 percent of countries tax energy drinks, WHO noted that this figure has remained unchanged since the last global report in 2023, indicating slow progress in expanding tax coverage.

In Kenya's 2025 budget, the government introduced a four percent Sugar Development Levy (SDL) on all sugar, both imported and locally produced. The levy aimed to support the sugar sector but also resulted in increased sugar prices. The budget also proposed broader tax measures, including a 16 percent value-added tax on healthcare and digital services.

Debate continues in Kenya regarding the introduction of a specific sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax, with proposals to tax high-sugar drinks such as milkshakes as part of the government's broader revenue generation efforts.

A separate WHO report indicates that at least 167 countries impose taxes on alcoholic beverages, while 12 countries ban alcohol entirely. Despite this, alcohol has become more affordable or remained unchanged in price in most countries since 2022, as taxes have not kept pace with inflation and rising incomes.

The report also highlights that wine remains untaxed in at least 25 countries, mainly in Europe, despite the well-documented health risks associated with alcohol consumption.

Dr. Etienne Krug, Director of WHO's Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention, commented that industry profits often come at the expense of public health. 'While industry profits, the public carries the health consequences and society bears the economic costs. More affordable alcohol drives violence, injuries, and disease,' Dr. Krug said.

WHO's findings reveal that globally, excise tax shares on alcohol remain low. On sugary drinks, taxes are often weak and poorly targeted, with the median tax accounting for only about two percent of the retail price of a common sugary soda. In many cases, taxes apply to a limited range of beverages, leaving large segments of the market untaxed.

Few countries regularly adjust health taxes for inflation, enabling health-harming products to become steadily more affordable over time. WHO is now urging countries to raise and redesign health taxes as part of its 'three by 35' initiative, which aims to increase the real prices of tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks by 2035 to reduce consumption and protect public health.

Kenya is a full member of the World Health Organization and actively participates in the World Health Assembly while collaborating with WHO on various health initiatives.