INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY THE HON EDDIE FENECH ADAMI,
PRIME MINISTER, AT THE SYMPOSIUM ORGANISED BY THE ALLIANCE FOR BETTER
BONE HEALTH ENTITLED "OSTEOPOROSIS – YOU CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
WITH ACTONEL/OPTINATE" - MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE CENTRE, VALLETTA
- SATURDAY, 6 MARCH 2004
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Malta has historically been at the forefront of
medicine and medical care. The medicinal quality of its herbs and
climate were renowned in Roman times. The Knights of St John developed
one of their best hospitals here in this very building five centuries
ago. Across the road from here they also founded one of the oldest
Medical Schools in Europe, which is still active within our University.
More recently, during the war-torn nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
Malta served as a base for the medical care of wounded troops, and came
to be known as the ‘Nurse of the Mediterranean’. And now, at the
beginning of this new millennium, we are building a new acute teaching
hospital, with the aim of transforming Malta into the medical capital of
the Mediterranean.
My Government was fully conscious of this legacy and,
when we came to power in 1987, we immediately placed health care and the
care of the elderly at the top of our social policy agenda. Since then
enormous strides have been made in both sectors. This has been achieved
through the highly skilled and very resilient professional workforce in
our health care sector. Besides excellent teaching facilities at
undergraduate level, most of our staff have had the opportunity of
refining their skills and specialisation in various centres of
excellence in Europe and America. That is perhaps why the Maltese enjoy
an excellent health status and the quality of our health care system has
earned the respect of many international organisations of repute.
In relation to the topics being discussed in your
symposium we have developed excellent curative services in orthopaedics,
gynaecology and geriatrics, with most modern technologies and treatments
now being available locally. This high-level of care is placing a heavy
strain on our limited resources, and health care sustainability is
therefore one of the pillars of the new social pact that we hope to
negotiate and conclude during this year with our social partners.
Health sector sustainability imposes upon us the
urgency of exploring new ways of achieving improved results. One route
is prevention through citizen improvement. We must be healthier, eat
healthy, exercise more and live more intellectually stimulating lives.
The challenge of ageing can be faced with fewer burdens if we strive to
add life and colour to the additional years that our overall development
has given us. This implies that the health care infrastructure must
respond more rapidly and efficiently to the emerging health care issues
and trends.
The Maltese islands offer some distinctive advantages
to the scientific community which have not hitherto been fully explored
and exploited. With our highly qualified professionals and a captive
population, we can offer a natural laboratory for scientific research
and innovation targeted both at the individual and the population level.
Our industry has a proven track record in high-value added
transformation products, particularly in electronics, and more recently
in the pharmaceutical sector. We are ready to take up these new
challenges and transform them into opportunities for further growth.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My Government extends its full support to the
Alliance for Better Bone Health initiative.
May I conclude by bidding you a very warm welcome to
Malta and by wishing you a memorable stay among us. While extending my
best wishes for fruitful deliberations during this symposium, I am
pleased to declare this meeting open.
