Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA) will convene civil society organisations and technical partners in Johannesburg, South Africa, from the 28 to the 31 of July 2026, for the kick-off meeting of its Health Tax Advocacy in Africa, marking the formal launch of the organisation’s Health and Tax Strategic Focus Area (SFA).
Through this SFA, TJNA seeks to strengthen policy advocacy for the taxation of health-harming products to curb harmful consumption, generate sustainable financing for health systems, and prevent non-communicable diseases.
The initiative comes at a critical time for Africa. Rising debt obligations, declining development assistance, and increasing demand for essential public services are placing significant pressure on national budgets. At the same time, the growing burden of non-communicable diseases is increasing healthcare costs, reducing productivity, and deepening financial hardship for households, particularly among low-income and vulnerable communities.
Health taxes offer governments a practical policy instrument for responding to these interconnected challenges. When effectively designed and implemented, they can reduce the affordability and consumption of harmful products, mobilise additional public revenue and lower the long-term health and economic costs associated with diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and respiratory illness.
The meeting will bring together implementing partners (Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in Nigeria, the Rural Health Advocacy Project (RHAP) in South Africa, the Namibia Development Foundation (NAMDEF) and Vision for Accelerated Sustainable Development Ghana (VAST Ghana), technical experts, representatives of the TJNA Secretariat and participants from Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal.
Through technical dialogues, country presentations and practical planning sessions, participants will examine the health tax policy landscape in the four focus countries and identify priority opportunities for reform.
Discussions will also examine tax rates and structures, indexation, affordability, enforcement, revenue mobilisation, public communication, misinformation and industry interference. Particular attention will be given to strengthening collaboration among stakeholders, including ministries, of finance and health, revenue authorities, civil society organisations and technical experts.
The kick-off meeting will establish a common understanding of the project’s theory of change, expected results and implementation approach, while aligning the initiative with TJNA’s Strategic Plan.
Through the project, TJNA aims to strengthen coordinated civil society advocacy, expand the use of evidence in health tax debates and advance equitable tax policies that protect public health while contributing to Africa’s sustainable domestic resource mobilisation.
For more information, please contact John Thomi via tthomi[@]taxjusticeafrica.net
