Reducing Demand for Unhealthy Food

GHAI works with civil society organizations to promote and protect mandatory policies that reduce the consumption of ultra-processed products. We support advocacy efforts to:

Enact taxes on sugary drinks and unhealthy foods.
Implement mandatory front of package warning labels to help consumers identify unhealthy food.
Ban marketing and availability of unhealthy food and beverages in schools to ensure healthy food environments.
Restrict marketing of unhealthy food and beverages.
Eliminate industrially produced trans fatty acids from the food supply.
Regulate sodium content in manufactured food.

To date we have supported the passage of 22 national food and nutrition policies in 15 countries.

Where We Work

Current:
Argentina,
Bangladesh,
Barbados,
Botswana,
Brazil,
China,
Colombia,
Costa Rica,
El Salvador,
Ethiopia,
Gambia,
Ghana,
Guatemala,
India,
Indonesia,
Jamaica,
Kazakhstan,
Kenya,
Nigeria,
St. Kitts and Nevis,
Pakistan,
Philippines,
Rwanda,
South Africa,
Tanzania,
Uganda,
Vietnam,
Zambia

Past:
Türkiye,
Uruguay

See the Map

Our Impact

Elimination of Trans fats

Together with our partners, GHAI has helped pass best-practice trans fat restrictions in Argentina, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Philippines and Türkiye.

Taxation of Sugary Drinks and Junk Food

GHAI has supported advocacy campaigns to pass or increase taxes on sugary drinks or ultra-processed products in Colombia, Ghana, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Africa. The South Africa tax, implemented in 2018, has already demonstrated decreases in consumption of these unhealthy drinks.

Front of Package Warning Labels

We’ve worked with partners in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay to pass mandatory front of package warning labels to help consumers easily identify unhealthy food and drinks and make healthier choices.

School Food Policies

We’ve partnered with advocates to remove ultra-processed food and sugary drinks from schools in Argentina, Barbados and Brazil. At the subnational level, GHAI has also supported successful campaigns in Neteroi, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

Program Resources

Food and Nutrition Program Profile

Advocacy Resources

Discover GHAI resources that address food policy and nutrition topics including: Front of Package Warning Labels, Marketing Restrictions, Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Taxes, Trans Fatty Acids Elimination, and more.

Recent News

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October 5, 2026

Ethiopia Adopts One of the World's Strongest Nutrient Profile Models to Create Healthier Food Environment

Diet-related noncommunicable diseases are a growing burden in Ethiopia, and the country just gave itself a powerful new tool to fight them. The Ethiopian Nutrient Profile Model (E-NPM), developed under the leadership of the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) and the Ministry of Health, provides a science-based approach to identify pre-packaged foods and beverages high in sodium, free sugars, saturated fat or trans fat, as well as those containing non-sugar sweeteners or caffeine. Paired with a Front-of-Package Warning Nutrition Labelling (FOPWL) framework informed by national consumer research, the E-NPM gives Ethiopia a strong foundation for policies that can help consumers quickly identify unhealthy products while tackling diet-related noncommunicable diseases.

Food and Nutrition Ethiopia

Members of the Pan-African Legal Network on Food and Nutrition at the network's formal launch in Dakar, Senegal, in August 2026. The network brings together lawyers from 12 African countries to advance food and nutrition policy through law.

September 29, 2026

The Legal Network Taking on Big Food's Playbook in Africa

This August, in Dakar, Senegal, the Pan-African Legal Network on Food & Nutrition (PALNEF) was formally inaugurated. Convened during the Global Health Advocacy Incubator’s (GHAI) Third Pan-African Legal Capacity Strengthening Symposium on Food and Nutrition Governance, the network is now registered in Tanzania as an international legal network, complete with its own constitution and governing structure.

Food and Nutrition Cameroon Kenya Nigeria Senegal South Africa Tanzania Uganda Zimbabwe

August 20, 2026

Nine Young Advocates, One Global Playbook: What Youth Monitors Saw in World Cup Junk Food Marketing

When the FIFA World Cup kicked off in June 2026, so did one of the largest ultra-processed product (UPP) marketing pushes in the sport's history. All over the world, UPP companies, such as Coca-Cola, Lays and Pepsico, spent months embedding their products into the emotional core of the world's most-watched sporting event, reaching billions of fans.

Food and Nutrition Uganda South Africa Jamaica Barbados Indonesia Argentina Colombia

Related Case Studies

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Sweetened Beverage Taxes: Lessons from a Decade of Progress

Locally-led advocacy campaigns supported by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) have contributed to the adoption and strengthening of sweetened beverage (SB) taxes in Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America and South Asia. The lessons learned from these campaigns are being applied by advocates around the world to counter the threat caused by SBs in their countries and generate new government revenues.

Trans Fat Elimination in the Philippines

The Philippines mandated the elimination of industrially produced trans fat from its food supply – a policy supported by local civil society advocates working in partnership with the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).

Protecting Heart Health in Brazil

Brazil approved strict limits on trans fat in food following strategic advocacy led by local civil society organizations supported by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI).