Health workers insist that more and more youngsters are indulging in intimate sexual encounters at a younger age. This sort of behaviour mirrors what is happening in the Western world, leaving in its wake scarred relationships, unplanned babies and an ever-increasing incidence of sexually-transmitted diseases.

There seems to be an almost fatalistic acceptance that such unprecedented and early involvement in sexual activity is inevitable and all that public health and educational authorities can do is employ a programme of damage reduction.

Unfortunately, despite the huge advances in medical science, sexually-transmitted diseases can be deadly, extremely costly to treat, and not just in monetary terms, even leading to avoidable sterility and pre-cancerous conditions.

Added to this sorry scenario, the new generation is increasingly overlooking, or perhaps ignoring, the concept of the true purpose of sex as a God-given gift meant to uphold life-long relationships in a stable environment of love and, hopefully, fertility. The aggressive secular media scoff at such an outlook on life and dismiss it as a vestige of a bygone age.

In today's hedonistic culture, sex has been reduced to the level of entertainment. In the hope of coming to grips with this phenomenon, the authorities have been trying to fashion and implement an effective sexual health programme.

Various health professionals have been working in the field trying to cope with the unbelievably reckless and mis-informed behaviour of a worrying number of young people. In the forefront, Philip Carabot, as head of the Genito-Urinary Clinic, has been pleading for years for the implementation of a strategy and to ensure the necessary funds to deal with this reality are available. Dr Carabot was greatly disappointed to discover that an allocation for a national sexual health programme has been left out of the 2010 Budget.

Social Policy Minister John Dalli reacted quite abrasively and brusquely when asked to explain why the third and latest version of the policy, finalised earlier this year, was excluded and whether there were any real intentions to inject life into this policy, which has been in gestation since 1999. This outburst was interpreted by Dr Carabot as a personal rebuff but the minister denied this.

Needless to say, the minister has the unenviable task of tackling the ever-increasing demands and costs of a burgeoning health service that can spiral out of control. Also, there seems to be disagreement or indifference at the highest levels on how to tackle this situation.

With the knowledge of what happened overseas, Malta is in the privileged position to assess what really works and what is counterproductive. Also, it is difficult to work harmoniously in an environment where there are ill feelings and where strident accusations remain unanswered.

Developing a mature and sound attitude to one's sexuality is a cornerstone for the well-being of society. Too much is at stake and too much time has been wasted avoiding facing up to the far-reaching long-term consequences of inaction.

The government has to make a serious sustained effort to get parents, educators and health authorities to work in unison and mutual respect to educate and safeguard youth so as to spare them from the scourge of sexual irresponsibility that has crippled the social framework of so many other countries.