Malta’s 14-Year-Old Sexual Health Policy Will Be Updated By End Of Year, Health Minister Pledges
A revamp of Malta’s 14-year-old sexual health policy will be put up for public consultation by the end of the year, Health Minister Jo Etienne Abela has promised.
In Parliament this week, independent MP Rosianne Cutajar asked Abela for an update on the new policy, which has been in the pipeline for several years now.
“I’m informed that the Public Health Department has already carried out a lot of work on the new sexual health policy, which is at a very advanced stage, and I’m convinced that it will be issued for public consultation later this year,” Abela responded.
Noting that more and more people are aware of the importance of sexual health, Abela said around 7,000 visited a GU clinic last year, more than double the number of people who used to frequent them up until a few years ago.
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“It is a topical and important issue that we need to discuss without prejudice or shame,” he said.
The sexual health policy was initially intended to be announced back in 2020 but it was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chris Fearne, who was Health Minister at the time, assured that the public would receive the policy in March 2021, but that date was also unmet because the research that the new document was based on was found to be around 12 years old.
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