Punching Above its Weight: Current and Future Aging Policy in Malta

Abstract

Abstract Malta has been at the forefront in aging policy and healthy aging development. It was the first country to highlight the need of a United Nations-led international action plan aimed at meeting the needs of an emerging global aging population. Through a number of initiatives, Malta has managed to put aging as a top priority on its national policy agenda. The country boasts of the longest life span spent in good health among all European Union countries with its inhabitants expected to live a significant portion of their life free of disability. Malta’s ranking in the Active Ageing Index experienced consistent improvements in the past decade, registering the sharpest progress in the European Union. In response to an increase in individuals with dementia, Malta was also among the first countries to adopt a national strategic policy for dementia. Notwithstanding such significant progress, Malta still lags behind in developing policy directions addressing gender inequalities and minority groups’ interests among its older population. Similar to other Southern European countries, Malta’s accelerated rate of population aging raises concerns with regard to economic growth, sustainability of effective health care and pension systems, and the well-being of older persons. Gender will also feature prominently in the future planning of long-term care policy as older women are projected to increase threefold in the foreseeable years with the high risk of poverty associated with older single and widowed women, implying that a few would be able to opt for private care.