GEORGE TOWN: As Malaysia moves towards aged nation status by 2030, the Health Ministry needs to ensure that it can successfully navigate the challenges of this demographic change effectively and compassionately at the same time.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said like all other Asean countries, Malaysia has to carefully allocate available resources to provide care for the whole population, caring for the older generation while ensuring that the younger generation are equipped health-wise to live longer, healthier lives.
"We are just now returning to post-pandemic normalcy. No doubt, many lives were saved by the vaccines, but the one precious lesson we learned from the pandemic is that pre-existing poor health, especially in the elderly, was catastrophic when faced with a grave challenge like Covid-19.
"Although, we cannot anticipate these rare 'black swan' events, we must work hard to weather these unforeseen crises by ensuring that every citizen achieves and maintains his or her peak health.
"The challenge of modern medical care is that it allows us to do so much more for the individual but it may not be affordable for everyone. The challenge grows more acute as our population ages and health issues starts to catch up for the aging individual.
"The old paradigm focused on the treatment model needs to be re-imagined. A fundamental change in the approach to ageing is needed," he said in his keynote address at the 3rd Asean Conference of Healthy Ageing (ACHA) 2024 themed "Ageing Successfully - Equitably, Actively and Naturally".
His keynote address was read out by Dr Mohd Safiee Ismail, the Health Ministry's family health development department director.
Present was organising chair and Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society president Professor Dr Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman.
As such, Dr Dzulkefly said today's conference was a forum of discussions on how the old paradigm needed to be shifted to a more integrated and preventive care model, and focused on changing cultural attitudes towards ageing, cultivating age-friendly environments, creating responsive healthcare systems and providing long term care and support essential to living with dignity and essentially, to age successfully.
"What does successful ageing means? Foremost, it means that individuals experience growing older in good health holistically, encompassing physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of life.
"Beyond the individual, ageing successfully also means establishing a healthy and safe community for these ageing individuals to thrive in.
"In other words, we aspire not just to longer lives but also healthier and happier lives during our later years," he added.
Dr Dzulkefly said he was pleased that this conference would feature international and local speakers who would share their extensive expertise and experiences.
He said it was his hope that this conference would be the forum to clarify exactly what was needed to achieve successful ageing and how to bring about changes to achieve that goal.