Macau authorities have formulated a health blueprint amidst a perceived shift to an ageing population.
According to the blueprint – based on the Healthy China 2030 – presented on Tuesday by Alvis Lo Iek Long, director of the Health Bureau, as many as 20 specific goals and over 50 assessment indicators have been laid out, covering fields such as health risks, mental health, chronic diseases, and infectious diseases.
The overall objective is to lift the population’s health literacy by 2030 when ‘healthy lifestyles are basically adopted’.
The authorities are also looking to control the incidence of major chronic diseases.
“With urban development, an ageing population and changing lifestyles, chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer have become the major health challenges,” the health chief said.
“This has led to a continuous increase in demand for medical services and has also become the leading cause of death.”
According to the Statistics and Census Service, the number of young people is expected to fall below the number of older people for the first time.
Over the next two decades, the proportion of over-65s is projected to rise from 12.2 per cent in 2021 to 14.2 per cent in 2023, with the upward trajectory on track to reach almost 21 per cent by 2041 – a situation that will earn Macau the ‘super-aged society’ title by the World Health Organization standards.
What is worth paying attention to?
The results of a survey conducted during the 2022-2023 academic year indicate that 90 per cent of secondary school students did not meet the recommended amount of daily physical activity, with most of their time dedicated to a sedentary lifestyle.
70 per cent of their leisure time was spent in front of a computer screen, and 40 per cent of them were found to have an inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables.
In addition, 25 per cent of the city’s residents were found to have been suffering from chronic diseases, which were the main cause of over 80 per cent of deaths in the city.
According to a government-commissioned analysis by a Hong Kong academic institution, the demand for hospital care is six times higher for the elderly than for other age brackets.
