A village in Calabria has
introduced a "ban on dying" as it tries to encourage its aging
population to seek medical treatment and stay in good health.
The initiative in Sellia, a village with about 500
inhabitants, started after Mayor Davide Zicchinella managed to
open a local health centre in June despite cuts to health
service funding.
Zicchinella, a qualified doctor, then signed an
administrative act dated August 5 which explicitly mentions that
dying is banned.
It also introduces incentives for people who show they are
looking after their health and sanctions for those who take
little care.
"The response of our citizens has been more than
encouraging," Zicchinella said. "One hundred people have come in
to the centre for check-ups in one month," he said.
"I can't stress enough the importance of maintaining one's
health in a community in demographic decline with a largely aged
population, in which every human life has an even greater
value," he said.
More than 60% of Sellia's inhabitants are over 65 and in
the past 15 years it has lost more than a third of its
population.
Industrial development association Svimez warned in a
report last week that the economic and demographic crises
affecting southern Italy could turn into permanent
underdevelopment.
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