Safura Abdool Karim
Biographic Data
| ID | 1542296 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Safura Abdool Karim |
| GIVEN NAMES | Safura Abdool |
| FAMILY NAME | Karim |
| SIGNATURE | KARIM S A |
| AFFILIATIONS | South African Medical Research Council |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4843-9907 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 27 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Walking a tightrope
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and health agencies were responsible for communicating vital information to the public. To effectively communicate the severity of the situation and to encourage the public to follow recommendations, best practices for public communication during emergencies often emphasize two objectives: building trust and being transparent. Doing so can require communicators to “walk a tightrope,” where the success…
The impact of Covid-19 on food aid systems in South Africa
Covid-19 and South Africa’s response to Covid-19 resulted in increased food insecurity and reliance on food aid. This study aimed to describe the functioning of the food aid system during South Africa’s Covid-19 response. We conducted a mixed-methods study from August 2020 to January 2021 in South Africa. Data collection comprised of a desk-based review of private actor activities related to food aid during Covid-19; key informant interviews with…
Advancing whose interests? Corporate strategy and risks to food systems transformation and public health nutrition through academic partnerships in Africa
BOX Food systems contribute to hunger, malnutrition in all its forms and environmental harm, and, particularly in Africa, are vulnerable to climate and other global and regional shocks, as seen during COVID-19
A Call for Formal Reporting Standards for Legal Research in Public Health Studies
Recognizing the ethical complexity of food policies and the role of the food industry
Restrictive food policies are often contentious and controversial. Supporters of these policies view them as imperative for achieving public health aims while some opponents view them as overly paternalistic, infringing on consumer choice and potentially inequitable. As a consequence, their ethical status and permissibility are both contested and of importance in decision-making for policy. Traditional ethical analysis of these interventions has …
The World Health Organization was born as a normative agency
The World Health Organization (WHO) was born as a normative agency and has looked to global health law to structure collective action to realize global health with justice. Framed by its constitutional authority to act as the directing and coordinating authority on international health, WHO has long been seen as the central actor in the development and implementation of global health law. However, WHO has faced challenges in advancing law to prev…
The content and scope of the right to nutritious food
South Africa faces a growing epidemic of obesity and associated diseases emanating from a changing food system and overnutrition. While the right to food offers a means to support the prevention of obesity, the constitutional right has largely been defined and framed in terms of undernutrition and food insecurity. This article develops the content of the right to food in relation to overnutrition and obesity. The starting point is the manner in w…
Defining and conceptualising the commercial determinants of health
Stakeholder arguments during the adoption of a sugar sweetened beverage tax in South Africa and their influence
BACKGROUND: Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes are recognised as an effective intervention to prevent obesity. More countries are adopting SSB taxes, but the process of the adoption is politically complex. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyse how public participation processes influenced the South African tax. METHODS: We conducted a content analysis of documents associated with the process of adopting the tax. Records were identified utilisi…
Participatory prioritisation of interventions to improve primary school food environments in Gauteng, South Africa
Prioritising evidence-based, feasible and important interventions underpinned by behaviour change theories is an important step towards enhanced policy making and resource allocation to tackle South Africa's childhood obesity epidemic effectively
Determining food industry compliance to mandatory sodium limits
Objective: To provide an update on the compliance to the Na reduction regulation (R.214) and to highlight some challenges and successes experienced by South Africa in the implementation of a mandatory Na regulation. Design: The study design was observational. Nutritional information of packaged food (specified in the R.214 regulation) was collected between February 2019 and September 2020, before and after the implementation date of the final Na …
Is a right to health a means to protect public health? South Africa as a model for a communitarian interpretation of the right to health for the promotion of public health
The right to health has primarily been developed and understood as an individualistic right and framed in terms of healthcare services. Public health and disease prevention have become increasingly important, particularly with the increasing occurrence of novel pandemics. The ability of the traditional framing of the right to health is less helpful in contexts where one seeks to apply a human rights-based approach to public health interventions. …
Covid-19
Several safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines were developed, evaluated, and made available in record time during the pandemic. But hopes of equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines were dashed by corporate greed, political expediency, global trade agreements, and intellectual property ownership, delaying or denying access for poor countries. Once vaccines became widely available, their benefits were curtailed by anti-science sentiment and anti-vacci…
A human rights-based approach to coercive public health interventions
The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak and its impact on countries across the globe has been unprecedented. The lack of pharmaceutical interventions to prevent or treat infection have left States with limited avenues to control the spread of the virus. Many countries have introduced stringent lockdowns along with regulatory regimes that give governments new powers to compel compliance with these regulations and to punish non-compliance. This article investigate…
Integrating health technology assessment and the right to health
South Africa’s move towards implementing National Health Insurance includes a commitment to establish a health technology assessment (HTA) body to inform health priority-setting decisions. This study sought to analyse health rights cases in South Africa to inform the identification of country-specific procedural values related to health priority-setting and their implementation in a South African HTA body. The focus on health rights cases is moti…
Socioeconomic and gendered inequities in travel behaviour in Africa
Barriers to, and facilitators of, the adoption of a sugar sweetened beverage tax to prevent non-communicable diseases in Namibia
The Government of Namibia has taken positive steps and the policy environment is friendly towards an SSB tax. The proximity of trade and the competitive nature of the Namibian drinks industry with South Africa suggest that a regional perspective to advocacy would be of value
Nutrition-related non-communicable disease and sugar-sweetened beverage policies
Background: The burden of undernutrition is significant in Kenya. Obesity and related non-communicable diseases are also on the increase. Government action to prevent non-communicable diseases is critical. Taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages has been identified as an effective mechanism to address nutrition-related non-communicable diseases, although Kenya is not yet committed to this.Objective: To assess the policy and stakeholder landscape re…
Strengthening prevention of nutrition-related non-communicable diseases through sugar-sweetened beverages tax in Rwanda
Background: Food and beverages high in sugar are recognized to be among the major risk factors for nutrition-related non-communicable diseases. The growing presence of ultra-processed food producers has resulted in shifts to diets that are associated with non-communicable diseases and which include sugar-sweetened beverages. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation presents an opportunity to prevent non-communicable diseases but it comes with challenges…
The data availability landscape in seven sub-Saharan African countries and its role in strengthening sugar-sweetened beverage taxation
Timely, easily understood, concise, and locally relevant evidence is needed in order to inform policy development on SSBs. The relevant data are drawn from multiple sectors. Cross- sector collaboration is therefore needed. Indicators for SSBs should be developed and included in current data collection tools to ensure monitoring and evaluation for SSB taxation
Nutrition related non-communicable diseases and sugar sweetened beverage policies
Background: Taxation on unhealthy products is recommended as a cost-effective intervention to address the global burden of non-communicable diseases. Taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages dis-incentivize consumption of unhealthy products. Implementation of such policies is difficult in Sub-Saharan African countries, which are targets for global corporate expansion by the sugar-sweetened beverages industry.Objective: To identify opportunities to s…
The legal feasibility of adopting a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in seven sub-Saharan African countries
Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes are legally feasible in all seven countries Existing laws provide a means to implement taxes as a public health intervention
The political economy of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation
Background: Non-communicable diseases are on the rise across sub-Saharan Africa. The region has become a targeted growth market for sugar-sweetened beverages, which are associated with weight gain, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.Objective: To identify politico-economic factors relevant to nutrition-related fiscal policies, and to draw lessons regarding strategies to strengthen sugar-sweetened beverages taxation in the region and globally.Me…
Study design
This paper reports on the design of a study to examine the policy landscape relevant to sugar-sweetened beverage taxation in seven sub-Saharan African countries. The study responds to the need for strong policy to address the rising burden of non-communicable diseases in the region. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation has been widely recommended as a key component of a comprehensive policy approach to NCD prevention. However, it has proved a conten…
Barriers to, and facilitators of, the adoption of a sugar sweetened beverage tax to prevent non-communicable diseases in Uganda
BACKGROUND: Uganda is experiencing an increase in nutrition-related non-communicable diseases. Risk factors include overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Fiscal and taxation policies aim to make the consumption of healthier foods easier. However, the adoption and implementation of fiscal policies by countries are constrained by political and economic challenges. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the policy and political landscape related to the …
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Industry strategies in the parliamentary process of adopting a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in South Africa
BACKGROUND: In 2016, the South African government became the first in the African region to announce the introduction of an SSB tax based on sugar content as a public health measure to reduce obesity. This tax was introduced against the backdrop of South Africa having a large sugar production and SSB manufacturing industry, as well as very high unemployment rates. The introduction of fiscal measures, such as a SSB tax, has been met with well-coor…
Barriers to, and facilitators of, the adoption of a sugar sweetened beverage tax to prevent non-communicable diseases in Namibia
The Government of Namibia has taken positive steps and the policy environment is friendly towards an SSB tax. The proximity of trade and the competitive nature of the Namibian drinks industry with South Africa suggest that a regional perspective to advocacy would be of value
Nutrition-related non-communicable disease and sugar-sweetened beverage policies
Background: The burden of undernutrition is significant in Kenya. Obesity and related non-communicable diseases are also on the increase. Government action to prevent non-communicable diseases is critical. Taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages has been identified as an effective mechanism to address nutrition-related non-communicable diseases, although Kenya is not yet committed to this.Objective: To assess the policy and stakeholder landscape re…
Strengthening prevention of nutrition-related non-communicable diseases through sugar-sweetened beverages tax in Rwanda
Background: Food and beverages high in sugar are recognized to be among the major risk factors for nutrition-related non-communicable diseases. The growing presence of ultra-processed food producers has resulted in shifts to diets that are associated with non-communicable diseases and which include sugar-sweetened beverages. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation presents an opportunity to prevent non-communicable diseases but it comes with challenges…
The data availability landscape in seven sub-Saharan African countries and its role in strengthening sugar-sweetened beverage taxation
Timely, easily understood, concise, and locally relevant evidence is needed in order to inform policy development on SSBs. The relevant data are drawn from multiple sectors. Cross- sector collaboration is therefore needed. Indicators for SSBs should be developed and included in current data collection tools to ensure monitoring and evaluation for SSB taxation
Nutrition related non-communicable diseases and sugar sweetened beverage policies
Background: Taxation on unhealthy products is recommended as a cost-effective intervention to address the global burden of non-communicable diseases. Taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages dis-incentivize consumption of unhealthy products. Implementation of such policies is difficult in Sub-Saharan African countries, which are targets for global corporate expansion by the sugar-sweetened beverages industry.Objective: To identify opportunities to s…
The legal feasibility of adopting a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in seven sub-Saharan African countries
Sugar-sweetened beverage taxes are legally feasible in all seven countries Existing laws provide a means to implement taxes as a public health intervention
The political economy of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation
Background: Non-communicable diseases are on the rise across sub-Saharan Africa. The region has become a targeted growth market for sugar-sweetened beverages, which are associated with weight gain, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.Objective: To identify politico-economic factors relevant to nutrition-related fiscal policies, and to draw lessons regarding strategies to strengthen sugar-sweetened beverages taxation in the region and globally.Me…
Study design
This paper reports on the design of a study to examine the policy landscape relevant to sugar-sweetened beverage taxation in seven sub-Saharan African countries. The study responds to the need for strong policy to address the rising burden of non-communicable diseases in the region. Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation has been widely recommended as a key component of a comprehensive policy approach to NCD prevention. However, it has proved a conten…
Barriers to, and facilitators of, the adoption of a sugar sweetened beverage tax to prevent non-communicable diseases in Uganda
BACKGROUND: Uganda is experiencing an increase in nutrition-related non-communicable diseases. Risk factors include overconsumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Fiscal and taxation policies aim to make the consumption of healthier foods easier. However, the adoption and implementation of fiscal policies by countries are constrained by political and economic challenges. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the policy and political landscape related to the …
Unsavoury
The right to food in South African jurisprudence has remained underdeveloped and the right to food is often vindicated through other means and the protection of other, related rights. The modern development of class actions in South Africa is implicitly intertwined with the infringement of citizens’ right to access sufficient food. The first class actions initiated in South Africa involved the food industry and affordability of the most staple fo…
A human rights-based approach to coercive public health interventions
The SARS-CoV-2 outbreak and its impact on countries across the globe has been unprecedented. The lack of pharmaceutical interventions to prevent or treat infection have left States with limited avenues to control the spread of the virus. Many countries have introduced stringent lockdowns along with regulatory regimes that give governments new powers to compel compliance with these regulations and to punish non-compliance. This article investigate…
Integrating health technology assessment and the right to health
South Africa’s move towards implementing National Health Insurance includes a commitment to establish a health technology assessment (HTA) body to inform health priority-setting decisions. This study sought to analyse health rights cases in South Africa to inform the identification of country-specific procedural values related to health priority-setting and their implementation in a South African HTA body. The focus on health rights cases is moti…
Socioeconomic and gendered inequities in travel behaviour in Africa
Defining and conceptualising the commercial determinants of health
Stakeholder arguments during the adoption of a sugar sweetened beverage tax in South Africa and their influence
BACKGROUND: Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes are recognised as an effective intervention to prevent obesity. More countries are adopting SSB taxes, but the process of the adoption is politically complex. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyse how public participation processes influenced the South African tax. METHODS: We conducted a content analysis of documents associated with the process of adopting the tax. Records were identified utilisi…
Participatory prioritisation of interventions to improve primary school food environments in Gauteng, South Africa
Prioritising evidence-based, feasible and important interventions underpinned by behaviour change theories is an important step towards enhanced policy making and resource allocation to tackle South Africa's childhood obesity epidemic effectively
Determining food industry compliance to mandatory sodium limits
Objective: To provide an update on the compliance to the Na reduction regulation (R.214) and to highlight some challenges and successes experienced by South Africa in the implementation of a mandatory Na regulation. Design: The study design was observational. Nutritional information of packaged food (specified in the R.214 regulation) was collected between February 2019 and September 2020, before and after the implementation date of the final Na …
Is a right to health a means to protect public health? South Africa as a model for a communitarian interpretation of the right to health for the promotion of public health
The right to health has primarily been developed and understood as an individualistic right and framed in terms of healthcare services. Public health and disease prevention have become increasingly important, particularly with the increasing occurrence of novel pandemics. The ability of the traditional framing of the right to health is less helpful in contexts where one seeks to apply a human rights-based approach to public health interventions. …
Covid-19
Several safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines were developed, evaluated, and made available in record time during the pandemic. But hopes of equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines were dashed by corporate greed, political expediency, global trade agreements, and intellectual property ownership, delaying or denying access for poor countries. Once vaccines became widely available, their benefits were curtailed by anti-science sentiment and anti-vacci…
Recognizing the ethical complexity of food policies and the role of the food industry
Restrictive food policies are often contentious and controversial. Supporters of these policies view them as imperative for achieving public health aims while some opponents view them as overly paternalistic, infringing on consumer choice and potentially inequitable. As a consequence, their ethical status and permissibility are both contested and of importance in decision-making for policy. Traditional ethical analysis of these interventions has …
The World Health Organization was born as a normative agency
The World Health Organization (WHO) was born as a normative agency and has looked to global health law to structure collective action to realize global health with justice. Framed by its constitutional authority to act as the directing and coordinating authority on international health, WHO has long been seen as the central actor in the development and implementation of global health law. However, WHO has faced challenges in advancing law to prev…
The content and scope of the right to nutritious food
South Africa faces a growing epidemic of obesity and associated diseases emanating from a changing food system and overnutrition. While the right to food offers a means to support the prevention of obesity, the constitutional right has largely been defined and framed in terms of undernutrition and food insecurity. This article develops the content of the right to food in relation to overnutrition and obesity. The starting point is the manner in w…
The impact of Covid-19 on food aid systems in South Africa
Covid-19 and South Africa’s response to Covid-19 resulted in increased food insecurity and reliance on food aid. This study aimed to describe the functioning of the food aid system during South Africa’s Covid-19 response. We conducted a mixed-methods study from August 2020 to January 2021 in South Africa. Data collection comprised of a desk-based review of private actor activities related to food aid during Covid-19; key informant interviews with…
Advancing whose interests? Corporate strategy and risks to food systems transformation and public health nutrition through academic partnerships in Africa
BOX Food systems contribute to hunger, malnutrition in all its forms and environmental harm, and, particularly in Africa, are vulnerable to climate and other global and regional shocks, as seen during COVID-19
Business (19 works) · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology (18 works) · Political science (17 works) · Economics (15 works) · Medicine (15 works) · Economic growth (13 works) · Environmental health (10 works) · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations (10 works) · Law (10 works) · Public health (10 works)