Health Versus Capitalism

Until healthcare policy addresses the capitalist elephant in the room, health research will forever be trying to treat the symptoms rather than tackling the root causes.

Written by Charles Ebikeme

Apr 6, 2022

Photography by TV Sense / Public Services International.

‘One to three drinks a day for most men… women are more sensitive to alcohol, so they are advised to drink less—one to two drinks.’ These words were spoken in 2016, during the Nigerian ‘Beer and Health’ conference, an annual one-day symposium, sponsored by Heineken-Nigerian Breweries. The symposium was introduced to create awareness of the ‘health and nutritional benefits of beer consumption’. Despite the claims of beer preventing cancer, reducing the incidence of kidney stones, enhancing vitality and cardiovascular health, and facilitating longevity and cognition among the elderly, it is difficult to ignore the clear tensions between the health benefits argued by presenters and fears people have around the health impacts of overconsumption of beer.

In the company’s own words, Heineken is the most trusted international beer brand in the world. In 2020, according to its annual reports, while Heineken saw a marginal decline in revenues by 0.4 per cent globally, only 25 markets grew in double digits, including Brazil, China, the UK, Singapore, Poland and Nigeria. The marketing strategies of a global alcohol industry is expanding across the continent, and Nigeria is no exception. At 13 litres of alcohol per capita as of 2019, Nigeria is the highest beer-consuming country in Africa. Health consequences come second in the face of ever-increasing pro-drinking strategies. In Nigeria, the absence of national-level alcohol control policies means self-regulation is the only tool available against over-consumption.

Symposiums like this make clear the foothold multinational corporations have on the conditions of our lives as Africans. Oliver van Beemen in Heineken in Africa: A Multinational Unleashed goes into further detail about Heineken’s role in perpetuating continued inequality in Africa. Brewing companies are not alone in the dichotomy between the need to increase profits and adverse health consequences. Famously, in the 2000s, Purdue Pharma sponsored various medical conferences in the United States as a way to gain influence at prestigious academic medical centres, and boost revenues by encouraging doctors to prescribe OxyContin and other opioids to more patients, often at higher doses and for longer. Both cases highlight the continuing conflict between the incentives of capitalism and establishing a world in which we all have the right to health.

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About the Author

Charles Ebikeme

is a science writer based in London and a sub-editor of The Republic.

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Health Versus Capitalism