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To: Finance Minister Godongwana
Help increase child support grant by raising the Health Promotion Levy
The Child Support Grant has not kept up with rising food prices, and so many children and families go hungry.
As Minister of Finance, it is your responsibility to raise enough funds to increase the Child Support Grant to at least the Food Poverty Line, which is currently R760 per person per month.
For years National Treasury has failed to increase the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), which not only contributes to the fiscus but also reduces the consumption of sugary drinks, which reduces the risk of life-threatening non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
That is why we are calling on Treasury to increase the HPL to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) recommended 20% rate with annual inflation-related increases thereafter and immediately begin the public consultation process of expansion to fruit juices.
Why is this important?
We have the power to protect children from hunger if we come together and demand the Minister of Finance to take action. Not only would increasing the Health Promotion Levy raise funds that could help fight child hunger, but it would also help reduce the consumption of sugary drinks, which contribute to Non-Communicable Diseases, which are a major health crisis.
We’re not the only ones calling on Treasury to act, over 35 top experts on obesity, diet-related diseases and public health from some of the world’s leading universities have written to Treasury officials to support increasing the current HPL to 20%. They are also very impressed with the results of evaluations done on the current HPL.
