KUALA SELANGOR, The Healthy Ageing: Frailty Prevention Among Senior Citizens programme kicked off in September last year and aims to increase awareness about frailty issues among senior citizens and prepare the country to become an ageing nation in 2030. Project director Dr Ahmad Munawwar Helmi Salim said the initiative also seeks to determine the health status of senior citizens in the community to allow early interventions that could enhance their independence and life quality. He said 600 elderly people in Klang have received the programme's benefits, which the Selangor government funds under the Selangor Health Partnership Programme (SELHEP) initiative. Dr Ahmad Munawwar Helmi said the programme, led by a non-governmental organisation, BeVital, has been expanded to Kuala Selangor through two phases: screening for frailty levels and special interventions for those aged 60 and above. He said participants are screened to gauge their frailty levels before attending a health talk and learning specially des igned exercises conducted by sports medicine experts from the Health Ministry (MOH) and other parties. "They will be provided with a resistance band and exercise diary so they can do the exercises at home," he told Bernama at the Senior Citizen Health Festival here today. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh also attended the event. According to Dr Ahmad Munawwar Helmi, participants must attend a health talk twice a week, participate in exercise activities and undergo physiotherapy examinations, among other things, during the programme's second phase. "The programme is carried out for three months and at the end of the programme, participants will be re-screened to assess its effectiveness. Based on the results of participants in Klang, their frailty levels dropped," he said. He said the initiative received help from volunteers under the Youth and Sports Ministry and experts from district health offices and health clinics under MOH, adding that 1,800 eld erly people in four districts are expected to benefit from the programme. Source: BERNAMA News Agency