On Wednesday January 16 2018, Tracey Crouch who is a junior Minister for Sport and Civil Society will become the Minister for Loneliness in a bid to combat loneliness in Britain.
Theresa May who is the current Prime Minister of Britain said, "For far too many people, loneliness is the sad reality of modern life. I want to confront this challenge for our society and for all of us to take action to address the loneliness endured by the elderly, by carers, by those who have lost loved ones — people who have no one to talk to or share their thoughts and experiences with."
More than nine million people say they are always or often lonely, out of a population of 65.6 million, according to the British Red Cross. The charity describes loneliness and isolation as a hidden epidemic affecting people across all ages at various moments in their life, such as retirement, bereavement or separation.
This ministerial appointment follows a recommendation from a committee in memory of Jo Cox who was a lawmaker for the Labour party who was murdered by a far-right extremist.
Britain’s loneliness initiative will see a strategy published later in 2018 which will have input from national and local government, public services, the voluntary sector and businesses.
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Other countries have appointed Ministers for interesting sectors
In 2016, the United Arab Emirates appointed its first ministers of happiness and tolerance. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, who was serving as Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office, was appointed as the minister of happiness. Lubna bint Khalid al Qasimi, who served as the Minister of Foreign Trade was given the appointment of minister for tolerance.
In 2017, one of Nigeria’s state governors Rochas Okorocha appointed his sister, Ogechi Ololo, as the Commissioner of Happiness and Purpose Fulfilment. In Venezuela in 2013, the president Nicolas Maduro created a Vice Ministry of Supreme Social Happiness.