Table 3 Policy and governance frames and arguments. The ‘NCD interventions’ category refers to arguments about what should be done to tackle NCDs. For simplicity, NCD interventions were grouped into two categories: (a) regulation and (b) self- and co-regulation (SR/CR). The former comprises regulatory interventions such as taxation, marketing restrictions and bans, and mandatory labelling. The latter comprises non-statutory or voluntary initiatives and public-private partnerships to address NCDs. ‘Broader governance’ encompasses issues pertaining to how decisions are made, who governs, and who is governed. This includes, for example, broader questions about the role of industry in policymaking
Key arguments in the context of: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
FRAME | NCD interventions | Broader governance | |
Complexity | Regulation is too simplistic for the complex issue of NCDs | The complexity of NCDs necessitates collaboration with industry | |
Regulatory redundancy | Enough regulation is already in place | Conflict of interest is sufficiently managed (through FENSA) | |
Industry is already regulating itself | |||
NCDs can be sufficiently addressed through non-statutory interventions | |||
Partnership | Successful past collaboration justifies a partnership approach to NCD policy | Industry is a necessary partner in addressing NCDs | |
Industry is a legitimate actor in NCD policy | Food industry is different to tobacco (or alcohol) industry | ||
Food industry is an important stakeholder | |||
Risk of engagement does not justify exclusion | |||
Unintended consequences | Regulation may not have the intended health benefit (or may be counterproductive) | Restricting industry engagement in policymaking risks undermining the fight against NCDs | |
Regulation may have unanticipated negative consequences | Â | ||
Evidence | There is insufficient (good) evidence in support of regulation | Industry supports evidence-based policymaking | |
The existing evidence does not support regulation | Evidence-based policymaking requires the inclusion of all available evidence (including from industry) | ||
Good Governance | Â | Good governance requires working with industry | |
Achieving policy coherence requires private sector input and alignment of health with economic agendas | |||
Limited WHO mandate | Â | WHO is overstepping its mandate | |
Restricting industry engagement is incoherent with the multistakeholder approach (and the SDGs) | |||
National sovereignty | National governments hold the primary responsibility for addressing NCDs | ||
Policy may infringe on national sovereignty | |||
Policy may be incoherent with national legal obligations | |||