Government launches new health portal

The portal, www.ehealth.gov.mt is part of an on-going campaign aimed to increase awareness on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Previous campaigns included educational messages to increase awareness of cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, alcohol abuse, smoking and the benefits of exercise among others.

Health Minister Joe Cassar said that a healthy lifestyle will not only benefit the physical body in weight loss, and prevention of diseases such as high blood pressure but will also favourably affect mental health.

Cassar also said that improving health is about culture and a difference will not be seen “overnight but if we work together a healthier population is a goal that we can achieve.”

Charmaine Gauci, Director for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, said that though the Internet allows access of information to the population many sites offering dietary and health information are not scientifically proven. The government website ensures reliable information that has been scientifically proven.

The Healthy Living section of the website includes information on weight loss, skin care, physical activity, sexual health and nutrition among other topics and including articles specifically targeted and health through the lifespan from infant through to the elderly.

The site also provides a list of tasty recipes that can be prepared in minimal time. Gauci said that a common problem among Maltese people is lack of knowledge regarding portion size and the site will provide recommendations to the ideal quantities that should be served.

The recipe section of the website is being updated regularly to provide users with a variety of recipes.

The site is only available in English at the moment, however there are plans to translate it into Maltese in the future, though no date has been identified. The technical language included in the articles is difficult to translate and needs time, Cassar said.