JUBA — South Sudan is stepping up efforts to ratify the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), as authorities seek to strengthen measures aimed at reducing tobacco use and its health impacts.
The Ministry of Health, supported by WHO, will bring together about 50 national stakeholders in Juba on September 1 and 2 to build support for ratifying the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
The meeting will bring together officials from government, parliament, law enforcement, revenue authorities, health institutions, civil society, UN agencies, and development partners.
In a press statement issued on Monday, Dr. Oromo Francis Seriano, undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, said the ratification would strengthen the country’s response.
“Ratifying the WHO FCTC will give South Sudan a stronger legal and policy foundation to protect present and future generations from tobacco-related harm, strengthen public-health governance and coordinate action across government and society,” Francis said.
He said tobacco use causes preventable illness and deaths, while placing an additional burden on families and the country’s health services.
“Delaying effective tobacco-control action will increase the future health and development burden. We are urging the country to strengthen prevention, legislation, and coordinated national action,” he said.
Francis said the major focus will be protecting children and young people from tobacco addiction.
The proposed treaty measures include restrictions on tobacco advertising and promotion, smoke-free public spaces, stronger health warnings on tobacco packaging, increased tobacco taxation, and measures to restrict young people’s access to tobacco products.
The WHO FCTC also promotes support for people who want to quit, including counseling and affordable cessation services.
The treaty targets both demand and supply, including tobacco taxation, illicit trade, advertising, packaging, smoke-free environments, and the sale of tobacco to minors.
He stressed that signing up to the treaty alone will not solve the problem.
“Ratification is an important foundation, but it is not the endpoint.”
He said the implementation will require stronger national laws, effective enforcement, sustainable financing, public awareness, monitoring, and accountability.
It also highlights Article 5.3, which calls for public-health policies to be protected from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.
“Decisions on tobacco control must place public health above commercial interests.”
According to estimates from the 2025 Tobacco Atlas, South Sudan had about 352,000 adult smokers in 2022, while smoking was estimated to cause 2,169 deaths.
Meanwhile, WHO’s 2023 country profile says South Sudan had no known nationally representative adult or adolescent tobacco-use surveys.
