Trade and market levers influencing South African and sub-Saharan African food environments

 

The marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages, along with international trade and investment, are identified as strong influencers of change in local, regional and global food environments. These changes have resulted in a nutritional transition toward a double burden of undernutrition, overweight and obesity. In South Africa, there is growing momentum to develop a more comprehensive policy on restricting child-directed marketing. The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement may act as a barrier to adopting policies restricting marketing, so there is a need to understand these potential conflicts and possible policy incoherence.

The aim of this project is to motivate action and address barriers to clear standards and policies on food marketing and regional trade that change norms and protect boys and girls from deceptive food marketing. It will investigate potential levers for policy intervention in trade and investment law to improve diets. The collaboration among regional researchers also aims to build on a body of regional evidence to support broader uptake.

The research will provide insights on the frequency, type and impact of unhealthy food and beverage advertisements to which children are exposed. It will also investigate corporate activity and alternative forms of marketing practices across South Africa, Ghana and Kenya that require regulation. Collaboration with stakeholders in trade and investment policy will identify possible entry points and barriers for policy change. Economic modelling will describe the impact of the new African Continental Free Trade Agreement on household consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages, the economic impact of changes in consumption, and the offset by increased trade and government revenue.

This project will be funded through the Catalyzing Change for Health and Sustainable Food Systems (CCHeFS) Initiative, a co-funding partnership between IDRC and the Rockefeller Foundation.