On 14 August 2025, ATAF joined the Southern African Conference on Tobacco Taxation (SACOTT), held in Lusaka, Zambia. The event was hosted by the Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD), alongside partners such as the Tax Justice Network Africa (TJNA), the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), and the Tobacco Control Data Initiative.
During the discussions, ATAF contributed insights on strategies for financing health in the context of declining external funding. The increasing demands of debt servicing, suboptimal revenue collections, combined with the uncertainty of Official Development Assistance (ODA) are some of the key challenges that have significantly impacted health programs and health funding in developing countries. The World Bank (2004), highlights that developing countries spent a record $ 1.4 trillion on foreign debt servicing in 2023 with interest costs reaching a 20- year high. The report further notes that interest payments are not only growing fast, but they are outpacing growth in critical public expenditures such as health and education.
The presentation highlighted how health taxes, particularly tobacco taxation, can be optimised to support in bridging these funding gaps while simultaneously supporting improved public health outcomes and reducing the health care burden in African countries. The presentation also offered insights into the measures African countries need to implement to strengthen excise tax administration, which is essential for ensuring that tax policies achieve their intended objectives.
The conference explored several other critical themes, including the earmarking of tobacco taxes for health spending and the enhancement of other tobacco control initiatives. By fostering regional collaboration and policy dialogue, the conference strengthened momentum for more effective fiscal reforms and reinforced the role of tax administrations in advancing sustainable health financing across Africa.
The conference gathered government officials, tax administrations, researchers, and advocates from across the region, including participants from South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana.
