CSEA hosted the 8th Download File">African Policy Circle (APC) Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria from 24-25 May, 2018. The meeting which met on the theme: “Forced Migration within and out of Africa: Innovative Solutions from African Civil Society and Think-tanks”, was supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stifung (KAS) and Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi).

The main objective of the meeting was to provide a platform for African think-tanks and civil society organizations to share knowledge and discuss strategies as well as develop actionable recommendations for policymakers to meaningfully address the problem of forced migration within and out of Africa.

Participants working on issues on peace and security, migration, development, policy research and human rights, participated in the meeting and deliberated on key issues whilst providing recommendations on forced migration within the African continent.

The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and UNDP, hosted a meeting on “Investing in the Sustainable Development Goals through South-South and Triangular Cooperation: Promoting conducive policy and legal environments in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States”. The specific objective of the meeting was to identify and formulate a research agenda for the South-South Global Thinkers, a Global Coalition of Think Tank Networks for South-South Cooperation. The event brought together over 80 participants from government, thinks tanks and private sector in which they were collectively able to identify challenges and good practices in policy and legal areas that can facilitate better South-South investment for sustainable development. Think Tank networks members through this event were able to identify and formulate a research agenda on South-South investment. The aim of such research is to inform better policy-making to promote investment within the region and beyond. The final research developed will be used to influence policy discussions on South-South and triangular cooperation including discussions in preparations for the upcoming Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South cooperation to be held in Buenos Aires in March 2019. CSEA Senior Research Fellow, Dr. Adedeji Adeniran participated in this meeting heold in Prague, Czech Republic from 15-16 May 2018." alt="" width="1024" height="332" />

In furtherance of its research study Tobacco, CSEA participated in The 17th World Conference on Tobacco or Health. Participants from around the world presented research papers to highlight the huge strides being made in tobacco control globally.

Dr. Chukwuka Onyekwena reported a study on the potential for tobacco tax to improve public health in Nigeria. The study reported that to be truly effective, tobacco control tax policy in Nigeria would need to see a 275 percent increase in excise tax, a change in tobacco tax structure, and stronger tax administration and revenue-collecting.

Earlier in February, CSEA organized a Download File">policy dialogue on Tobacco control to disseminate the Centre’s findings on the study “The Economics of Tobacco Control: Modelling the Fiscal and Health Effects of a Tobacco Excise Tax Change in Nigeria”. 

The study examines the potential for tobacco tax to improve public health and raise government revenues in Nigeria. Economic losses in the form of medical treatments and loss of productivity from tobacco-related diseases is estimated at US$ 591 million in 2015 (Tobacco Atlas, 2015). Thus, there is an urgent need to implement an effective tobacco control program to curb the epidemic of rising smoking prevalence rates and their impacts.  

Among the several measures for tobacco control, tobacco taxation is widely recognized as the most effective policy tool. Tobacco taxation can prevent millions of smoking-attributable deaths, reduce the number of young people initiating smoking, and contribute to the achievement of national public health objectives in Nigeria. At the same time, it can create the fiscal space needed to finance the country’s economic development and public health programmes.

Yet, the current level of excise tax in Nigeria (at 12 percent of retail price) is very low and well-below the WHO benchmark (set at 75 percent of retail price). This has adverse impact on smoking prevalence and smoking intensity, with attendant health and economic costs at households and national levels. Thus, from the perspective of public health and public finance, there is an urgent need to raise excise tax on tobacco products in the country.The event was held 7-9 March 2018,in Cape Town, South Africa.

 

Download PDF">Download the full report on the Economics of Tobacco Control

Dear Partners,

We are pleased to announce the launch of our website and company logo as part of our efforts to adapt to the changing research communications landscape.

In 2017, we started considering new ways to use web technologies to increase our visibility, as well as enhance our ability to influence developmental outcomes in Nigeria and Africa at large through evidence-based research.  First, we transformed our website from being product and event-orientated to an issue-based website which reflect current standards and allows for robust interaction with our audiences. With our state-of-the-art website, we are able to effectively showcase our activities and output in a manner that stimulates interest from diverse stakeholders. Next, we have redesigned our logo to emphasize our organization’s strengths and reflect our core values.

Over the past ten years, CSEA has grown and become a research organization of international repute, and has been consistently ranked as one of the leading think tanks in Africa by the University of Pennsylvania’s Global Go to Think tank Initiative, since 2008. In addition to providing high-quality analysis within our thematic areas, CSEA has achieved several policy impact through the use of   evidence-based research.

As always, we appreciate your commitment and engagement with CSEA. We will continue striving to deliver the best research outputs to enhance development outcomes in Africa.

Sincerely,

Dr. Chukwuka Onyekwena,

Executive Director,

CSEA.