World Heart Day: Kenya urged to close policy gap on industrially produced trans fats

As World Heart Day is marked, Kenya has been urged to adopt stronger regulations to eliminate industrially produced trans fats to reduce cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), a leading public health concern.

Although Kenya reviewed its regulations through Legal Notice No. 115 of 2015, calls for more stringent measures continue.

Amid a growing non-communicable disease burden, Kenya is yet to fully align with World Health Organization recommendations to limit industrially produced trans fats to no more than two grams per 100 grams of fat in food, eliminate partially hydrogenated oils altogether, and mandate clear nutritional labelling for consumers.

According to Kenya’s National Guidelines for Cardiovascular Disease Management, approximately 25 percent of hospital admissions are attributed to cardiovascular diseases, while 13 percent of autopsies identify cardiovascular diseases as the cause of death.

The Ministry of Health has also reported that non-communicable diseases account for 39 pc of deaths annually in Kenya. Behind these statistics are families losing loved ones, facing medical bills and coping with lost income.

Consequently, the International Institute for Legislative Affairs (IILA) is calling for action to close the policy gap and strengthen consumer protection.

“Adopting strong regulations to eliminate industrially produced trans fats would be an important step towards protecting the health of Kenyans. Kenya has already recognised the risks, and now we need to close the policy gap and ensure that stronger protections are in place,” said Kelvin Mithamo, Programme Officer at IILA.

While acknowledging progress made so far, civil society organisations said consumer protection laws and measures supporting healthier food environments should be effectively implemented and enforced.

“Kenya should urgently adopt and implement a mandatory limit for industrially produced trans fats across the food supply, covering both locally manufactured and imported foods. This should be backed by monitoring, laboratory testing and effective enforcement so that the policy does not remain on paper,” they said.

World Heart Day is marked annually on September 29. This year, WHO says the theme ‘Don’t Miss a Beat’, is an opportunity for Member States, WHO, and stakeholders to renew our shared goal to reduce preventable and premature deaths from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).

Major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases include hypertension, diabetes, tobacco use, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diets high in salt and fats, and physical inactivity.

Research by The George Institute for Global Health and IILA found that limiting industrially produced trans fats to the WHO-recommended level in Kenya could prevent approximately 17,000 cases of heart disease and 2,000 deaths over the first 10 years, while generating an estimated net saving of about 40 million US dollars (Ksh 4.1 billion) for Kenya’s healthcare system.

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