The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has called on the national and county governments to regulate advertisements promoting unhealthy foods, particularly those targeting children.
Speaking on Thursday, March 27, NCCK North Rift Region Chairman Bishop Emmanuel Chemengich urged authorities to ban such advertisements near schools and during children’s media consumption hours.
He also advocated for prohibiting the use of child-friendly characters in ads for foods high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats.
“We are especially distressed to note that over 75% of food-related advertisements on media and public platforms promote unhealthy foods. Even more concerning is that these ads primarily target children, exposing the country to a heavy burden of managing Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the coming decades,” said Bishop Chemengich.
The council further urged the government to introduce laws requiring food manufacturers to display clear front-of-pack warning labels, ensuring consumers can easily identify unhealthy ingredients.
“It is our considered position that the information hidden in hard-to-read back-of-pack labels does not effectively communicate to consumers. Front-of-pack warning labels will help Kenyans make informed choices,” he added.
NCCK warned that the rising consumption of unhealthy foods has fueled an increase in NCDs such as cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and respiratory diseases. According to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), NCDs account for 31% of all deaths and over 50% of hospital admissions in Kenya.
The council urged the Ministry of Health to declare NCDs a national emergency, emphasizing that urgent action is needed to curb their rapid rise.
“The government has a responsibility to ensure adequate attention and resources are directed at addressing this growing health crisis,” NCCK stated.
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