Fiscal Policies for Health

The Fiscal Policies for Health (TAX) unit provides strategic leadership, capacity building and specialized technical assistance in the field of fiscal measures for health, particularly on excise taxation on tobacco, alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverage products. In addition, the TAX unit leads WHOs work on the development of tools, normative evidence, and market surveillance to provide best practice guidance for countries on how to use fiscal measures to improve health, reduce healthcare costs and generate a revenue stream for development.

Building on its strong expertise and track record advising Member States on tobacco taxation, the TAX team in the Health Promotion Department serves as the overall coordinator on health taxes work within WHO,  building on lessons learned from tobacco taxation work.  The unit works across a wide range of countries, including high tobacco burden countries like China, India and Indonesia, as well as other countries such as across Africa where the tobacco epidemic presents a clear and present public health risk.

• Generating revenue by raising tobacco taxes in Latin America and the Caribbean