The Forum has joined with the wider men’s health sector to warmly welcome the UK Government’s first ever Men's Health Strategy for England. 

It is a historic day for us all. Now government and the sector must work together to turn promise into progress. 

The government says the strategy supports its ambition to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions, while increasing it for everyone. A stakeholder group will oversee implementation of the strategy, with the government publishing a one-year report to ensure accountability.

Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said:

For too long, men's health has been overlooked. There has been a reluctance to accept that men suffer specific inequalities and hardships. The fact is that life can be really difficult for men in today’s society.

Men are dying nearly four years earlier than women, and suicide remains one of the leading causes of death for men under 50.

This strategy marks a turning point – the first time we're taking comprehensive, coordinated action to address the health challenges facing men and boys. From partnering with the premier league to rolling out health support in the workplace – we're meeting men where they are and giving them the support they need to live longer, healthier lives.

Historic milestone

The Forum’s chair, Dr John Chisholm CBE, said:

I welcome today's publication of the Men's Health Strategy for England and the personal commitment of the Secretary of State to that Strategy. 

The Men's Health Forum has been campaigning and advocating for a national strategy for over a decade, working with other organisations.  A strategic, gendered approach to healthcare should improve access and outcomes and address inequalities.  It is particularly welcome that organisations committed to improving the health of men and boys will be involved in a stakeholder group helping to implement the Strategy, and that there is a commitment to evaluate progress in a year's time.  It is also encouraging that the Strategy addresses societal, structural and systemic issues that hamper the health and wellbeing of men and boys.

The Forum joined with its partners across the men’s health sector in a united response to ‘a truly historic milestone and a defining moment in the effort to improve the health and wellbeing of men and boys across the country’. 

Michelle Terry, the CEO of Movember, said:

This bold strategy has strong foundations which can be built on and delivered by government, charities, health professionals, men and their communities working together.

We now need rapid progress and delivery of the action plan to ensure this strategy creates real, measurable change. The UK has the opportunity not just to turn the tide on men’s health, but to become a global leader in men’s health policy, and a strong plan deserves backing. 

Handful of countries

Peter Baker, CEO of Global Action on Men’s Health, said:

“It’s great that England has joined the handful of countries around the world with national men’s health strategies. We know that a male-focused, co-ordinated and system-wide approach can accelerate the changes that are urgently needed to improve men’s unnecessarily poor outcomes and we hope that other governments will now soon follow England’s excellent example.”

Men’s health doesn’t exist in isolation and the gender-aware approach that the Forum has been calling for across all health services will benefit women’s health too.

Martin Tod, who has been the Forum’s lead on the Men’s Health Strategy for over a decade, said:

This is a big day for men’s health and will make a real difference. Understanding the different health needs of men and women is better for men and better for women. It’s excellent that there’s also a strong focus on the needs of men who face the biggest health challenges: when it comes to health, the biggest gaps are between different men – not between men and women. After many years campaigning, we’re delighted at today’s announcement.

The government has called it a ‘landmark strategy’ which ‘aims to tackle crisis in men’s mental health, improve physical health and reduce inequalities.’

Specific pledges

The strategy already contains a number of specific pledges:

• £3.6 million over the next three years for suicide prevention projects for middle-aged men in local communities across areas of England where men are at most risk of taking their own lives, including some of the most deprived areas in the country. For example, with Samaritans, Together Against Suicide was launched by the Premier League in September 2025 and provides matchday support for fans in stadiums, initially through 11 pilot clubs, as well as providing an online hub of information for fans and followers watching from home.  
• The development of home prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for men being monitored for prostate cancer
• £3 million for community-based men’s health programmes, designed to reach those most at risk and least likely to engage with traditional services
• Men's health training for healthcare professionals through new e-learning modules and resources
• Workplace health pilots with EDF Energy through the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Programme to support male workers in male-dominated industries
• Enhanced lung disease support for former miners, with increased investment in the Respiratory Pathways Transformation Fund in areas with significant former mining communities
• Funding research to help prevent, diagnose, treat and manage the major male killers and causes of unhealthy life years in men
• A £200,000 trial of new brief interventions to target the rise in cocaine- and alcohol-related CVD deaths, particularly among older men. 

 

Thank you

Along with everyone involved in men’s health in the UK, the Forum would like to say a huge and sincere thank you to every person who has been on this journey with us; to advocate for men’s health and make change on a systemic level is no easy job but we’ve proven that by working together, it can be done. 

Read the government's official announcement.