THE MALAYSIAN Healthy Ageing Society (MHAS) is encouraging the country to be prepared for an ageing population, and is promoting healthy ageing as an agenda to be taken up by relevant government entities and stakeholders.
Its president Dr Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman said that the country is starting to show signs of investments into the future of the people’s old age.
“The latest efforts by the government via the World Bank to create a national blueprint on ageing is one of many efforts to prepare for this.
“I believe we in MHAS can do more and call on all ministries and relevant stakeholders to promote the agenda for our ageing nation,” she said.
Dr Shahrul is the organising chairperson of the 3rd Asean Conference on Healthy Ageing to be held in Penang from July 30 to August 1.
The event is expected to tackle some pressing issues on the subject.
They include age-friendly cities, loneliness and social isolation, depression in the elderly, falls, emotional health of the elderly, mobility, cancer and incontinence.
“This type of conference is one of our many efforts aimed at creating education, awareness, and learning opportunities at every level of healthcare professionals and the many related disciplines as well as other stakeholders” she said.
The Department of Statistics has reportedly observed that Malaysia’s ageing population is growing at a faster-than-expected rate, with more than 15% of the population projected to be above the age of 65 by 2050.
According to the department, the composition of the population aged 65 years and over increased from 7.2% in 2022 to 7.4% in 2023, encompassing 2.5 million people. The trend is said to indicate that Malaysia is experiencing population ageing.
Dr Shahrul, who is also a professor of geriatric medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, stressed on the importance of bringing all relevant stakeholders together to create an 'age-friendly' ecosystem within the healthcare system and community.
Organised by MHAS, the conference is held in conjunction with the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030). It is supported by the Penang government and the Ministry of Health (MOH).
It is planned to provide a platform for healthcare professionals, healthy ageing advocates, the industry as well as community within the region to present their latest work, discuss and network to share the best practices and know-how.
It includes symposiums focusing on issues like special population, lessons from the pandemic, digital health and lifestyle.
“The conference offers a unique opportunity to share, interact, collaborate, and obtain hands-on skills from healthcare experts in ageing from all disciplines,” Dr Shahrul said.
“We do this by bringing all relevant stakeholders together to create an 'age friendly' ecosystem within our healthcare system and community.”
She expressed hope that other ministries, particularly government agencies involved in the care of the country’s elderly citizens will send representatives.
MHAS has invited relevant ministries, including MOH, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, as well as the Ministry of Human Resources, to send representatives to participate.
The Asean Conference on Healthy Ageing was the brainchild of the MHAS. The first conference was held in 2017, and the second in Bali in 2019.
The MHAS were also the organiser of the 1st World Congress on Healthy Ageing held in Kuala Lumpur in 2012.
For more information on the 3rd Asean Conference on Healthy Ageing, readers can visit www.healthyageing.org/acha2024/, email: [email protected], or call +6012 364 6109. – The Vibes, March 25, 2024
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