Malta’s National post-pandemic strategy, which has been launched before the end of Q2 2021, outlines an ambitious plan to help our country build back better in the wake of COVID-19.
The crisis is not yet over in the world, but it is no longer at its height and now is the right moment to look towards the future, plan for the future and create a new prosperity.
The post-pandemic strategy poses three main questions and provides a total of 114 initiatives in order to answer them. I propose to look into the first question: How do we improve our quality of life and wellbeing?
Covid-19 is a major health crises and it touches not only on physical health issues but also on aspects of mental wellbeing. Healthcare professionals, patients and health systems have been impacted all over the world. Arguably, the physical impact is evident. However, the psychological effect is still largely unknown and experts are asking a lot of burning questions on the psychological effect of it all.
Malta’s healthcare is one of the major achievements of our country. In the past decade, we have recorded, as a country, one of the largest increases in per capita health expenditure in the EU. Furthermore, Maltese citizens spend almost 90% of their life in good health and we can boast of one of the longest life expectancies in the European block.
This is undoubtedly a large positive and a strong point. Nevertheless there are two points which we need to underline: firstly there are disparities between income groups: 9 out of 10 in the highest income category report good health while only 6 out of 10 in the lowest income category report good health.
Secondly, almost 2 in five deaths in Malta can be attributed to lifestyle factors with obesity being the major health risk. In this respect we need to pull up our socks: rates in Malta are now the highest in the EU for both adults and children. What is worse is that reports reveal links between obesity and more serious consequences of COVID-19 infection. As the strategy clearly says, a renewed national focus on wellness is needed as we look ahead.
Mental health problems remain one of the biggest challenges in the field of public health and national health strategies have always and repeatedly prioritised the sector. Before the pandemic, more than half the general population suffered from a mental disorder at least once in their lives. It is a fact that the restrictions during the pandemic triggered a number of psychological effects: loneliness and social anxiety being the main two. There are concerns whether mental health has worsened across all age groups, including children.
Technology was a great help during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. Telemedicine has been available for many decades, but the pandemic -- as the strategy itself states – catalysed a genuine acceptance and adoption by health providers and patients, supported by the concurrent deployment of electronic patient records.
In fact, two telemedicine centres were set up to offer virtual care, and many doctors increased the use of digital communication tools in their interaction with patients, some of them using it as the first line of interaction. Robotic apparatus was also used to bolster the testing capacity. These advances are all positives and the country can build on those positive experiences for the future. That way we can create better access to health services.
Health has always been a priority in our country, but the impact of various factors on this crucial sector have taken a more prominent role during the pandemic. Therefore, it is crucial that the social determinants of health are tackled holistically in order to arrive to positive outcomes for the health sector itself and more importantly for the wellbeing of society.
The Strategy provides for four key thematic areas in order to then provide initiatives which Malta will take to improve quality of life and wellbeing in this context:
Maintain the focus on health sparked by the crisis.
Strengthen community-led social capital to deliver evidence-based solutions to societal challenges.
Enhance societal cohesion, inclusion and equity to make life better and fairer for all.
Adopt a more cohesive, green and sustainable approach to planning and development.
These in turn provide for 39 clear initiatives which Malta will undertake.
These initiatives propose that while our immediate priority is to control and prevent the virus, we also want to reinforce the longer-term wellness of citizens, for example by encouraging people to eat better, exercise more, and talk openly about mental health issues.
A pleasant urban and natural environment plays a vital role in health, happiness and the quality of our tourism offering and therefore it is important to adopt a more cohesive, sustainable and forward-looking approach to planning and development – enhancing our towns and cultural heritage, preserving and creating public green spaces, and enhancing infrastructure to make cycling and walking safe and enjoyable.
It is also of utmost importance to assess the full impact of the pandemic on Maltese society. This is a huge task, but it is also very important. We will launch detailed studies to understand what assistance different segments of society need and how best to provide it. Support will also be given to students to catch up with lost learning.
The strategy also proposes to foster social cohesion and equity across Maltese society and this in order to build on the community spirit that came to the fore during the pandemic. For instance, vulnerable people must be given greater access to training and employment opportunities and cultural dialogue programmes must be strengthened given the critical role of migrant workers within our healthcare system and wider economy.
As a country we are looking towards the future from a position of strength. While other countries are still coming to terms with unemployment and a slow vaccination programme, we are focusing our energy to plan ahead. Let us pull the same rope together for a better Malta.