Watch: I Want Malta To Be Best In Europe For Mental Health, PL MEP Candidate Says
Labour MEP candidate Marija Sara Vella Gafà has said she wants Malta to be the “best in Europe” when it comes to dealing with people’s mental health problems.
“I believe that we shouldn’t just overcome the stigma but see how we can improve [services] for everyone, because these changes would be more the benefit of everyone who lives in Malta,” Vella Gafà said in an interview with Lovin Malta.
“We want to be the best in Europe in this sector too, why not? I believe we should look at what other European countries are doing, learn from them, and implement these measures in our country.”
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In particular, she said she would like to learn lessons from Scandinavian countries, which regularly top polls as “happiest countries in the world”.
Vella Gafà, the current mayor of Gudja, had focused on mental health when she kicked off her campaign last month, telling her audience that some of them were likely suffering to some extent themselves.
She told Lovin Malta that her home visits have helped open her eyes to the realities on the ground, such as parents struggling to cope with the pressure of raising children with disabilities and workplace-related mental health challenges, aggravated by a fast-paced lifestyle.
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As an example of what needs to change, Vella Gafà called for more centralisation when it comes to mental health services, warning that people are suffering as a result of being to forced to constantly repeat their stories to different authorities and organisations.
She also called for more community-focused activities to help tackle the problem of loneliness.
“The national mental health helpline has received over 10,000 phone calls but there’s a lot more we can do.”
This action was co-financed by the European Union in the frame of the European Parliament’s grant programme in the field of communication. The European Parliament was not involved in its preparation and is, in no case, responsible for or bound by the information or opinions expressed in the context of this action. In accordance with applicable law, the authors, interviewed people, publishers or programme broadcasters are solely responsible. The European Parliament can also not be held liable for direct or indirect damage that may result from the implementation of the action.
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