The annual celebration of the International Day for Older Person, on the first day of October, reminds us that an ageing population is one of the most significant demographic and social developments facing Maltese society.
In July 2017, as much as 19.4 per cent of the Maltese population was aged 65 and over. Of these, 2,642 people – 1,836 females and 806 males – were aged 90 years or over. Population projections reveal a continuously ageing population. In fact, in the coming 25 years, the population of those aged 75 and over is expected to almost double, growing from 29,500 to 57,100.
There is no doubt that such unprecedented demographic transformations will pose myriad challenges. Despite Malta boasting a comprehensive pension system, we need to ensure that all older people experience financial safety.
The potential denial of full citizenship rights due to age discrimination represents another huge challenge. Age discrimination is an immense source of stigma, social exclusion and complications in remaining or (re-)entering the labour market, denying older people the opportunity to make economic and social contributions.
Moreover, although Malta offers various social and healthcare services that target the needs and interests of older people, no doubt the system will be increasingly challenged in the foreseeable future due to the increase in the numbers and expectations of older adults, as well as a relative decline in informal carers and the need for a larger workforce.
Such challenges, however, should not daunt us. The Parliamentary Secretariat for Persons with Disability and Active Ageing adopts a proactive vision on ageing welfare. Gone are the days when the government approached the quest to improve the elderly’s quality of life in a ‘management by crisis’ manner, where unexpected events, interruptions, problems or emergencies were allowed to dictate the nation’s priorities and actions.
The parliamentary secretariat’s vision is enriched by the National Strategic Policy for Active Ageing, the National Dementia Strategy and the Minimum Standards for Care Homes for Older People.
The foreseeable future will also witness the launch of another key policy framework, one that will bridge that interface between active ageing and the fourth age. This strategic plan will ensure that no older person, irrespective of his or her physical and cognitive abilities, will be left behind in the government’s quest to make Malta one of the best nations to grow old in.
It is my personal quest that care homes for older people will be, really, homes where residents have the potential to age successfully and productively. I sincerely believe that ‘impossible’ is a word found only in a dictionary of fools and yes, such a strategic plan will also cover all long-term care facilities for older people.
Malta must become an age-friendly society by promoting social inclusion and social and intergenerational solidarity
There should be no excuse for allowing older people who require long-standing social and healthcare assistance to spend their days in complete and unnecessary indolence. Of course, this is not saying nothing is being done to enrich the lives of older people in care homes and long-term care facilities but only to underline that the present innovative activities for residents will be much expanded and strengthened in the coming months.
My participation at the UNECE’s ministerial conference on ageing a few days ago made me realise how much this government has revolutionised the concept of active ageing. There was a consensus among those present that Malta’s junior ministry for active ageing provides the blueprint for future policy on the establishment of an ‘age-friendly society’.
At its core, this parliamentary secretariat is creating a shift in mindset in how we, collectively and individually, conceptualise ageing and what needs to be done to promote active, successful and productive ageing.
While in the not-so-distant past we tended to think of older people as frail and vulnerable, to the extent that ageing policy was found under the auspices of the Ministry for Health, this government refuses to perceive ageing as solely a health issue.
The policy-making arrangements that I have overseen over the past few months all seek to ensure that Malta becomes an age-friendly society by promoting social inclusion and social and intergenerational solidarity.
Never one to be content with political rhetoric, my vision for the future is to take active-ageing policy to a more progressive level – namely, to embed the quest for active ageing in a transformative agenda.
In doing so, we shall be really putting into practice the United Nations theme for the 2017 International Day for Older People – Tapping the talents, contributions and participation of older persons in society – by enabling and expanding the contributions of older people in their families, communities and societies at large.
Our policy’s foresight is to upgrade the pathways that support full and effective participation in later life, in accordance with old the person’s basic rights, needs and preferences.
There is no doubt that stepping into the future with pledges that no older person be left behind in Malta’s economic progress warrants us to tap into the often overlooked and under-appreciated contributions of older people.
This is not only essential to older peoples’ well-being but also imperative for Malta’s sustainable development processes.
Anthony Agius Decelis is Parliamentary Secretary for People with Disability and Active Ageing.