A men's health strategy brings so many opportunities

29/11/24 . Blog

For me, it's been nearly 12 years. For the Men's Health Forum, it's been even longer. It's been a ton of work by a lot of people.

For the last few years, it's been a Zoom meeting every fortnight with a brilliant team of likeminded colleagues and campaigners. And yesterday, I was one of the lucky group of men's health charity representatives, activists and campaigners that were in the room when health secretary Wes Streeting MP announced the the Government's plans for a Men's Health Strategy.

Some of the people who've done a huge amount of the work couldn't be there - such as Alan White - who, as the world's first Professor of Men's Health laid so many of the intellectual and research underpinnings that led us to this point - and Peter Baker - whose work with the Irish Government demonstrated so clearly that this would be a policy that would make a real difference - along with all his years leading the Men's Health Forum and Global Action on Men's Health.

It was great to be in the room with Mark Brooks OBE who has been such a powerhouse for the campaign (the support from the Men and Boys Coalition has been amazing throughout), John Chisholm who has provided so much support and wisdom (and provided brilliant input at yesterday's meeting) as well as so many others like Caroline Flurey, Paul Galdas, Chiara De Biase (the early support by Prostate Cancer UK meant a great deal) and Amy O'Connor - who's played such a pivotal role in turning Movember's decision last year to back the campaign into such an effective programme to help get the final decision over the line.

Journey isn't over

Wes Streeting took the final decision - and I cannot say how delighted I am that he did this, but other politicians have played an important role in getting us here. Dame Maria Miller wrote the first select committee letter on behalf of the Women & Equalities Select Committee asking the Government to look at a Men's Health Strategy. Former MP Steve Brine took an even stronger line on behalf of the Health Select Committee. The Local Government Association's support gave a welcome boost in the last stages of the campaign. And former MP Nick Fletcher was tireless in supporting men's issues as the first Chair of the APPG for Men and Boys: the APPG report on a men's health strategy was a pivotal moment.

It's been a long journey. It's been a brilliant team effort by so many organisations and individuals. And the journey isn't over. We now have to work together to make sure that the strategy genuinely delivers the change needed to make the real difference that is so urgently needed.

But it is also a moment for celebration. To stop. To reflect. To think of all of the people who got us to this point. And be genuinely excited for the opportunities that now lie before us.

Martin Tod,
The Forum's strategy campaign lead

The Men’s Health Forum need your support

It’s tough for men to ask for help but if you don’t ask when you need it, things generally only get worse. So we’re asking.

In the UK, one man in five dies before the age of 65. If we had health policies and services that better reflected the needs of the whole population, it might not be like that. But it is. Policies and services and indeed men have been like this for a long time and they don’t change overnight just because we want them to.

It’s true that the UK’s men don’t have it bad compared to some other groups. We’re not asking you to ‘feel sorry’ for men or put them first. We’re talking here about something more complicated, something that falls outside the traditional charity fund-raising model of ‘doing something for those less fortunate than ourselves’. That model raises money but it seldom changes much. We’re talking about changing the way we look at the world. There is nothing inevitable about premature male death. Services accessible to all, a population better informed. These would benefit everyone - rich and poor, young and old, male and female - and that’s what we’re campaigning for.

We’re not asking you to look at images of pity, we’re just asking you to look around at the society you live in, at the men you know and at the families with sons, fathers and grandads missing.

Here’s our fund-raising page - please chip in if you can.

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