Population health in South Africa: a view from the salt mines

In sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa is at the forefront in the use of fiscal and legislative instruments to manage population health. Mandatory regulations passed in March, 2013, to begin in 2016, will affect the salt content of processed food and will be a key weapon in the fight against the rising burden of hypertension.1 A first for Africa, the regulations could potentially affect population health regionally, as relaxation of tariff agreements enables South African retail chains to sell processed foods across the continent.