Government focus on ‘healthy ageing’ strategy

Healthy ageing and plans to create a national strategy for the health of elderly members of society were the focus of a health ministry workshop held on Friday to exchange knowledge and experiences between professionals and stakeholders.

The workshop, which was held at the University of Nicosia focused on four main pillars, namely prevention, promotion of healthy ageing, friendly environment for older people, and research and education, around which respective working groups are planned.

In her welcome address, the health ministry’s permanent secretary Christina Yiannaki said that the workshop is an initiative of the ministry that will contribute decisively to more systematic and improved service delivery to older people, the Cyprus News Agency reported.

Yiannaki added that in today’s era, the continuous improvement of living conditions and the upgraded health care offered has resulted in an increase in the life expectancy of the population, with the number of elderly people globally projected to double to 1.5 billion by 2050.

Through the national strategy, the health ministry aims to identify key issues where action is needed, with the aim of illness prevention and healthy ageing of the population, providing the best and highest quality health services to the elderly, improving the conditions, and way of living of the elderly population.