Gates Partners Meeting, 26th and 27th April 2017, Cape Town

The meeting was attended by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation partners, grantees and sub-grantees working in tobacco control across Africa. The objectives of the meeting were to strengthen the network of tobacco control partners in Africa and to collectively discuss improvements in strategies and learn from various country experiences. The meeting comprised a series of panel discussions on specific thematic areas of tobacco control, led by experts from various countries. This was followed by question and answer sessions that were quite engaging.

Corne van Walbeek was a panellist on the first discussion on “The South African tobacco control story”. During this session the panellists traced the history of South Africa’s tobacco control efforts from the early 1990s and the successes and challenges experienced. An interesting discussion ensued regarding the current state of tobacco control in South Africa and what more could be done to ensure the country is at the forefront of its efforts.

Hana Ross moderated a panel discussion focussed on “Tobacco taxation and development”. Hana noted several developments over the last few years that have placed tobacco control and particularly taxation at the centre of discussions on different forums. The panellists highlighted various experiences from their engagements with countries. Earmarking of taxes was an interesting discussion as the panel noted that taxes earmarked for specific health-related programs tend to garner more public support for the tax. The extent of earmarking taxes globally, was also surprisingly higher than expected with about 66 countries earmarking portions of their payroll taxes, 10 from their SSB taxes and over 20 from tobacco taxes.

Other panel discussions included:

• “National Coordination Mechanisms” – The panellists discussed how well these mechanisms function in different countries and any lessons to be drawn;
• “Advancing tobacco control: the experience of government officials” – The panellists were government officials that discussed their experiences in tobacco control and the need for united efforts from themselves and civil society in order to be effective.
• “Legal challenges from the tobacco industry” – The panellists drew from the experiences of the legal fraternity in fighting the tobacco industry in court. Lessons from Kenya’s experience as well as others involved in international disputes. An interesting point here was the setting up of a fund by the Gates Foundation and its partners that countries can access should they need assistance with funds for litigation against the tobacco industry.

The meeting was an opportunity for various partners to strengthen links across the continent. Social media platforms were being used by CSOs across the continent to increase the access to pertinent information in real time. These steps are in the right direction, should continue and in fact, be expanded to include other sectors within the broader purview of tobacco control.