The new Sexual Health Strategy: A complete flop

The government recently issued its new Sexual Health Strategy for 2026 to 2030. Unfortunately, naming this document a “strategy” is a stretch. It lacks any actionable timelines, and instead invests in empty and non-meaningful words. It reads more like an electoral manifesto than a strategy. It suggests policies that have long been established, and proposes others that have been a promised a decade ago. It is a complete flop.

For example, it emphasises the importance of the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccination programme in adolescents to prevent cervical cancer. This is a programme that has now been in place for many years. It also says that the government will continue committing itself to providing the regular PAP smear test screening that is offered to women in Malta, a screening test that has also been available for many years. We suppose we should be thankful for that.

This “strategy” document contains proposals on urology, gynaecology and genitourinary (GU) medicine, but very few on sexual and reproductive health itself. Indeed, it seems to confuse sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) with urology/GU/gynaecology medicine. We are given proposals about erectile dysfunction (a urological condition), and none about sex education in schools and for adults.

Family planning policies are only touched upon briefly by promising us access to free contraception, once again. This is a promise that was first introduced two elections ago, and again during the last election. Eight years on, the Maltese population remains without any free family planning options. Despite several assurances by politicians, the morning-after pill is still not available in hospital. This is not right. No political party should make repeated unfulfilled promises to attract votes.

Intriguingly, the document returns to discussing men having sex with men (MSM) over and over again. There is nothing wrong with MSM, of course, but there are so many other kinds of sex that it makes one wonder what’s going on. There are also numerous mentions of the importance of limiting the spread of HIV, a sexually transmitted infection (STI). HIV is a serious infection that thankfully, can be managed quite effectively with modern treatment. However, there are other equally, and perhaps more worrying, STIs that barely get a mention, like syphilis and Hepatitis C.

There are other problems with our new Sexual Health Strategy. Last year, 667 people had an abortion illegally in Malta, one of whom bled so heavily that she needed to go to hospital, only to be reported by doctors. Yet, this document ignores the abortion reality completely. It also ignores the sexual violence that many women routinely experience. It equally overlooks the poor and patchy service that many of our trans and non-binary patients, as well as those of other genders, tell us they receive at the Gender Clinic.

Malta urgently needs an update of its approach towards sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR); one that must be based on consent, respect, and education. People must be given the agency to decide if and when they want to be pregnant. They must possess the knowledge of how to take care of themselves, through thorough sex education, and they must have the tools to control when they get pregnant, through a variety of accessible and free contraceptive options. If contraception fails, people must have access to abortion without fear of running into medical complications. At Doctors for Choice, we truly worry that it is only a matter of time before a woman is too scared to go to hospital for fear of being reported and dies at home.

People of all genders need access to dignified and respectful medical services appropriate to their needs. And finally, the patriarchal and misogynistic culture that infiltrates Maltese culture must be tackled urgently and definitively to put a stop to the widespread sexual violence in our society.

We look forward to electing politicians who care enough for us and are ready to work hard for equitable reproductive healthcare. In the meantime, Doctors for Choice is ready to support all those who need our help.