Addressing the South African Human Rights Commission's inquiry into the country's food system, Motsoaledi said government should take stronger action against what he described as the "commercial determinants of health" – industries that profit from products high in sugar and salt, as well as alcohol and tobacco.
He argued that public health messaging struggles to compete with the marketing budgets of major brands, noting that alcohol companies were already spending about R1bn annually on advertising more than a decade ago.
"You don't spend R1bn advertising your product unless you know you are getting many times that back," he said.
"Commercial activities determine many health outcomes," Motsoaledi said.
He said the Health Promotion Levy (sugar tax) was introduced to reduce sugar consumption rather than raise revenue, arguing that South Africa is facing a growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
"The treatments are very expensive," he said, referring to diseases including breast cancer and diabetes.
Motsoaledi added that non-communicable diseases are unlikely to attract the same level of global funding as HIV and tuberculosis because they are not infectious and do not directly threaten wealthier countries.
Motsoaledi also questioned the influence of celebrity and sports sponsorships, saying children exposed to athletes promoting alcohol were more likely to trust those messages than classroom health education.
The minister pointed to existing interventions including the Health Promotion Levy (sugar tax), sodium reduction regulations and proposed front-of-pack warning labels as measures designed to improve public health, while indicating that stronger legislative recommendations from the inquiry could help government tighten protections.
See the hearings here.
