In a move certain to help members of the LGBTQIA community, Malta’s prime minister, Robert Abela, promised reforms for the country’s LGBTQIA people, including giving free gender affirming surgery for transgender people, who will be placed on the national health service, which means the state will finance the procedure.
First reported by a local publication, Lovin Malta, the prime minster was quoted as saying to ONE Radio that while his party (Labour Party) has “done a lot, more is yet to come. While we’re proud of what we did, more needs to be done.”
Earlier, the ban on gay men donating blood was already lifted in Malta, said to implement “fairer protocols that remove any form of discrimination with LGBTIQIA people where the parameters for a person to be able to donate blood will be equal for everyone.”
In 2019, Malta was named Rainbow Europe’s best European holiday destination for LGBTQIA travelers, scoring 90% out of 100.