While Nigeria has excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), current tax levels and structures remain below international benchmarks, while revenues are not systematically linked to health financing. At the same time, the country is facing a growing NCD burden, significant out-of-pocket health spending, and continued pressure to mobilise sustainable domestic resources for health.

The ongoing legislative discussions around SSB taxation, alongside broader fiscal reforms, present an important policy window to ask a bigger question: How can health taxes be designed and implemented to both improve health outcomes and contribute to sustainable health financing?

Today, a consortium of partners comprising the Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF), DGI Consult, and the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), with support from the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, is convening an inception workshop on “Realizing Health Taxes for Sustainable Health Financing and Curbing NCDs in Nigeria.” As part of the workshop, Dr. Yewande Ogundeji, Managing Principal at HSDF, is presenting on Nigeria’s health tax landscape, current challenges and emerging opportunities for reform.

The workshop brings together policymakers, legislators, revenue and budget institutions, development partners, civil society, academia and other stakeholders to identify practical pathways for advancing health tax reform, while launching the Health Tax Task Team to support continued coordination and action.

This is an opportunity to strengthen health taxes as both a public health tool and a sustainable source of domestic health financing.