12th May 2026
Dear leaders of Malta’s political parties,
The Malta Association for Public Health Medicine (MAPHM) is an independent nonprofit organization promoting public health in Malta, bringing together Specialists in Public Health Medicine and professionals in this field. While Malta performs strongly on economic growth, life expectancy, and access to care, challenges persist: rising chronic disease, high stress levels, ageing pressures, workforce shortages, and above-average out-of-pocket spending for healthcare. These risks threaten sustainability and equity.
Addressing them requires long-term, cross-party commitment beyond electoral cycles. We reiterate our call with urgency amid global uncertainty. As a small island state, Malta is vulnerable to shocks such as pandemics and supply disruptions, making resilience and preparedness essential. We therefore urge all political parties to support a National Pact for Health, Well-being and Sustainable Development, grounded in evidence and sustained over time.
The Urgent Challenges
1. Prevention is better than cure, but this is not concretely prioritized so far
Malta faces a high burden of preventable disease driven by obesity, tobacco and vape use, and harmful alcohol consumption. Stronger, coordinated action across government and political parties is urgently needed. Investment in prevention must increase significantly from the current ~1-2% of total health expenditure to levels closer to the EU average, with funding ring-fenced to ensure impact. This should be complemented by fiscal measures and tighter regulation of marketing and product availability. Without a
decisive shift towards prevention, the system will remain treatment-focused, limiting progress in reducing disease burden, improving population health, and ensuring long-term sustainability.
2. Mental Health and Wellbeing
Mental ill health affects over one in five people across OECD and EU countries, posing a major public health and economic challenge. Young people are particularly impacted, with more than one in four aged 15–24 affected, raising concerns about long-term health and productivity. This rise is driven by factors including the COVID-19 pandemic, inequality, social isolation, climate anxiety, and digital pressures. Evidence shows that scaling up effective interventions can deliver significant benefits but requires sustained investment, workforce expansion, and action on social determinants. Local data mirrors these trends, with high stress levels despite economic growth, making action essential for resilience of the population.
3. Environmental and Climate Health Threats
Closely linked with the previous priority, environmental pressures are increasingly affecting health and system resilience, including the availability of green and blue spaces, as well as the impacts of air and noise pollution. These factors play a critical role in shaping population health outcomes and quality of life. Malta also performs relatively poorly among European peers in areas such as climate action and sustainable development, highlighting the need for stronger alignment between health and environmental policy
Our Proposal: A National Pact for Health and Wellbeing
We call on Malta’s political parties to commit to a cross-party agreement built around three strategic priorities:
- Commit to preventing chronic diseases and promoting health through a coordinated set of evidence-informed measures. This should include regulation and taxation, early intervention, public education, expanded screening (including mental health), and stronger, more integrated primary care, with a focus on
protecting young people and addressing common risk factors. - Mental health must be treated as a national priority, underpinned by sustained investment in services, health workforce, and early intervention, particularly for young people. Crucially, policy must go beyond healthcare to tackle the social determinants of mental health, including inequality, housing, education, employment, and digital environments, to achieve lasting improvements in wellbeing and societal resilience.
- Health must be embedded in climate and environmental policies through action on pollution, investment in green and blue spaces, and sustainable development. This will protect population health and future generations.
A Shared Responsibility
The evidence is clear: Malta performs strongly on many fronts yet faces systemic, interconnected, and long-term challenges which cannot be ‘fixed’ across a single electoral cycle. Most imminently there are capacity issues which must be addressed decisively; however, this call for action is urging politicians to carefully ponder the longer-term risks our population is faced with. These require coordinated action and joint investment across sectors over several cycles, including health, education, environment, transport, and economic policy. The next generation deserves a Malta where prosperity is matched by health, resilience, and genuine well-being, not only in statistics, but in everyday life.
The time for a shared commitment is now.
Respectfully,
Dr. Alexia Bezzina – MAPHM President
Dr. Karen Borg – MAPHM Honorary Secretary
MAPHM Executive Committee:
Alexia Bezzina, Tanya Melillo, Karen Borg, Jason Attard, Mariella Borg Buontempo, Beatrice Farrugia, Amanda Bugeja, Sascha Reiff, Sandra C. Buttigieg, Charmaine Cordina and Elaine Cutajar.
Photo: Edmond Dantès on Pexels.com.
