Penang to host the 3rd ASEAN Conference on Healthy Ageing
02 May 2024
bySaras Ramiya
Healthcare professionals need to be prepared for the multifaceted challenges posed by an aging population.The 3rd ASEAN Conference on Healthy Ageing 2024 (3rd ACHA 2024) on 30 July–1 August 2024 will be held in Penang and is organized by the Malaysian Healthy Ageing Society (MHAS). The conference will involve as many as 22 international speakers, 38 Malaysian speakers and over 500 delegates.
The 3rd ACHA 2024 will be themed ‘Ageing Successfully - Equitably, Actively and Naturally,’ and aims to forge a path toward understanding and addressing the multifaceted challenges posed by an aging population.
“As we enter the United Nations Decade of Healthy Aging, the 3rd ASEAN Conference for Healthy Ageing aims to provide an active platform for healthcare professionals, healthy aging advocates, the industry as well as community within the ASEAN region to present their latest work, meet, discuss and network with colleagues from the region and abroad to share the best practices and know-how for the betterment of healthy aging and the older population in the region,” said Professor Dr Shahrul Bahyah Kamaruzzaman, Organizing Chairperson of the 3rd ACHA 2024 and MHAS President.
“The conference offers a unique opportunity to share, interact, collaborate, and obtain hands-on skills from healthcare experts in aging from all disciplines. This is delivered via special lectures, workshops, seminars as well as a pre-conference workshop where medical professionals and community members will continue to learn, enhance, and enrich their knowledge which will translate to better and improved care for our older persons,” Shahrul added.
The programs have been arranged to cater to different expectations and aspirations of the delegates. Symposiums focusing on special population, lessons from the pandemic, digital health, lifestyle interventions as well as many other interesting sessions have been carefully crafted to maximize learning opportunities, she explained.
On Malaysia’s preparedness for an aging population, Shahrul who is also a Professor of Geriatric Medicine at Universiti Malaya’s Faculty of Medicine, said that the country is starting to show signs of investments into the future of the aging population. “The latest efforts by government via the World Bank to create a national blueprint on aging is one of many efforts to prepare for this,” she explained.
Shahrul believes MHAS can do more and called on all ministries and relevant stakeholders to promote the agenda for the aging nation. MHAS is gathering relevant stakeholders to create an ‘age-friendly’ ecosystem within the healthcare system and community. To that end, MHAS has invited the Ministries of Health, Higher Education, Women, Family and Community Development, and Human Resources to send their representatives to attend the 3rd ACHA 2024 and be part of the conversation on Malaysia’s aging population.
This conference is a showcase of many efforts by MHAS aimed at creating education, awareness, and learning opportunities at every level of healthcare professionals and the many related disciplines as well as other stakeholders.