The Silent Epidemic: Addressing the Commercial Determinants of Health in Sub-Saharan Africa Project
Posted by EDITORIAL
The ACORDS project exposes Kenya’s “silent epidemic” and how industries behind junk food, alcohol, and fossil fuels fuel a rising wave of non-communicable diseases, while shaping policies that put profit before health.
Understanding Industry Influence to Build Healthier, Sustainable Policies in Kenya
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In Summary
- Over 50% of advertisements in Kenyan schools promote ultra-processed foods, shaping lifelong eating habits from childhood.
- Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) now account for 50% of national emissions and are the second-largest cause of death in Kenya.
- The ACORDS study seeks to expose how alcohol, ultra-processed food, and fossil fuel industries drive health crises while influencing policy and economic systems.
- Experts call for stronger regulations, clear labeling, and community engagement to balance health and industrial interests.
Kenya is quietly battling a health crisis it did not design. In classrooms, on billboards, and across digital screens, children are taught what to crave long before they learn what to eat. A recent study by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) examined 500 schools and found that over half of advertisements targeting students promoted ultra-processed foods; not books, not health, but junk.
This is the unseen front line of a growing war on Kenya’s well-being: one driven not by viruses but by corporations.
At the launch of the Addressing the Commercial Determinants of Health in Sub-Saharan Africa (ACORDS) project in Nairobi on November 4, 2025, researchers, policymakers, and health advocates gathered to address what many now call the silent epidemic: the corporate-driven rise of NCDs, from diabetes to heart disease, in low- and middle-income nations.
“The foods we grow up eating, the brands that win our hearts in childhood, often end up defining our health outcomes,” noted Veronica Ojiambo, Research Officer at APHRC. “By the time we’re adults, those early influences are already shaping our risks.”
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The Cost of a Sweet Childhood
The health implications are staggering. According to Kenya’s Ministry of Health, NCDs now account for nearly 27% of all deaths:- a figure that has doubled over the last decade. Behind this surge lies a powerful mix of marketing, economic dependency, and weak regulatory frameworks.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs), rich in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, are not just expanding waistlines: they’re reshaping economies. Analysts estimate that diet-related diseases cost Kenya over KSh 100 billion annually in healthcare expenses, lost productivity, and premature mortality.
The same corporations that sell these products argue they are job creators. And they are; but at what cost? Employment in the alcohol, food processing, and fossil fuel sectors accounts for thousands of livelihoods, yet the public health bill they generate outpaces the revenue they bring.
A senior economist familiar with the ACORDS project called it a “profit paradox”. Industries that sustain families financially while quietly eroding their health and future earning capacity.
When Industry Meets Policy
The ACORDS project, a collaboration between APHRC, the University of Edinburgh, University of Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), and University of Witwatersrand (South Africa), funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), aims to unpack this web of influence.
Its four-year mandate is as ambitious as it is urgent: to map how corporate strategies shape Kenya’s health, economy, and governance- and how to reclaim policy for the public good.
Part of this work involves tracking corporate political activity, identifying how multinational companies lobby ministries, fund front groups, or rebrand harmful products as “sustainable” or “community-driven.”
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One research phase will model market concentration, studying how few corporations dominate sectors like alcohol and UPFs. Another will explore governance systems, investigating whether policymakers can truly regulate industries that fund their programs and campaigns.
The Fossil Fuel Link
Kenya’s health challenge is not just on the plate but in the air. Fossil fuel emissions- from industrial pollution to transport ; drive respiratory illnesses and compound climate-linked health threats. Over 50% of all emissions in the country are tied to NCDs, according to government data.
This convergence of unhealthy consumption and environmental degradation places Kenya in a double bind: improving living standards while worsening the conditions for survival.
Reclaiming Public Health
The ACORDS team believes change begins with information and transparency. Just as cigarette packs carry stark health warnings, researchers are urging the government to introduce mandatory front-of-package labeling for ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks- giving consumers the right to make informed choices.
They are also calling for fiscal tools such as “health taxes” on products proven to cause disease, coupled with incentives for healthier local alternatives.
Community involvement is central to the project. Through participatory methods like Photovoice, citizens will document how corporate practices affect their neighborhoods- turning lived experience into data that policymakers can no longer ignore.
“The gifts we give our children today; a soda, a snack, a shiny treat - may become the health battles they fight tomorrow,” Editorial Opinion from a health expert.
“We must redefine what care looks like.”
A New Kind of Accountability
The ACORDS initiative is not anti-business. It is pro-survival. It asks how nations like Kenya can balance economic growth with the health of their people.
If the country succeeds, it could set a new precedent for Sub-Saharan Africa — one where prosperity is measured not only in profits, but in the strength, longevity, and well-being of its citizens.
