Loneliness is the fastest growing disease of the modern world, killing more people than cancer and heart disease, according to some studies.

A phone call, a card, a lunch with that lonely person can do the trick- Herbert Messina Ferrante

It is said that loneliness damages the chemical and electrical responses in our immune system that help the body fight disease. Personally, I do not understand this, but I can understand that you have less chance of surviving on your own.

Nowadays, help is available for a huge variety of illnesses. Whether you’re an alcoholic or a cocaine addict you can turn to a number of anonymous foundations and support groups.

If you are a one-parent family, there are social services and pressure groups. But who do resort to if you are on your own and desperately lonely? More people are being pushed into loneliness.

The modern trend of leaving home at a young age, divorce, and the fact that many are living longer all give rise to loneliness.

A rising percentage of households are now being occupied by single adults. For some, this is a matter of independence and choice, but others are forced into this situation.

The media projects an image of a gregarious fun-loving youth culture, but real life does not quite work like that. The majority stay in and watch television on their own. Single people smoke and drink more, eat more pre-packed meals, less fruit and vegetables, are unhealthy and depressed.

No wonder the suicide rate in the UK for single individuals has soared in the last quarter of a century, according to statistics.

We have developed a society which pushes people away. In Malta we may not have not yet reached the point where strangers in a bus queue view you with suspicion or turn their backs – a common occurrence abroad where trying to make friends with a child might prompt a call to the police.

The image of the macho fun-loving man is contagious. More teenage women are copying them – gulping down alcohol from a bottle, swearing, and going out on the prowl for partners and one-night stands.

It may have helped you forget your problems when you were having a good time at the nightclub, but you cannot leave them behind with your underwear.

In the morning, when your unnamed lover for the night has gone, you are still left with the headache, the crumpled sheets and alone.

I feel the fear of loneliness is on the increase in different age categories. It is not just the young, but also the elderly who used to rely on their children for support.

If they fall ill no one may hear about it for days. How many times do we read in the media about the authorities being called in to find someone dead in bed after having been missing?

In this small island we are blessed with government services providing homes for the elderly. Health Minister Joe Cassar and the Parliamentary Secretary for the elderly Mario Galea are to be commended for their initiative in providing night shelters for the elderly.

We hope the government will continue to provide similar shelter in all districts. Together with my committee at the Maltese Pensioners and Elderly Association, we will do our utmost to work hand in hand with the government to promote this ambitious and much needed project.

We owe a lot to our beloved elderly. We are encouraged to come ‘clean’ about almost any condition – it seems even people in high places are shy and do not want to admit to being lonely.

In a fashion-driven world, loneliness is one of the great taboos – The lack of love that dares not speak its name.

Yet there is a ready cure for loneliness. It needs no miracle drugs, no massive investment, nor winning the Super 5. It needs us, the politicians, media, the Church. A phone call, a card, a lunch with that lonely person can do the trick. Simply keeping in touch, helps.

So anyone who has a relative, a friend who is alone especially during the festive period, pay a visit, pick up the phone, write a short letter, send flowers, and show some concern. And hope that when it comes to your turn, as inevitably it will, there will be someone there.

A prosperous New Year to all.

Dr Messina Ferrante is president of APAN.