In the UK, one man in five dies before he reaches 65. Together we can change that. Donate, sign up for news or order some of our man manuals from the online shop.
Sector meeting on the parliamentary inquiry into men's health
3rd August 2023: the men's health sector came together to discuss how to ensure the strongest response.
The announcement by the parliamentary Select Committee on Health and Social Care of an inquiry into men's health was welcomed by the Men's Health Forum and all who work in men's health.
The Forum brought everyone together to discuss how best to respond to this long-overdue initiative. This page shares the proceedings of that meeting which was chaired by Martin Tod of the Forum.
Other key speakers were:
Steve Brine MP, the chair of the Select Committee on Health and Social Care, outlining what the enquiry is looking for in evidence from us
Mark Brooks of the Men & Boys Coalition sharing his vast experience in how parliament works
We encourage everyone working in men's health to take a look at the enquiry and its questions and consider submitting evidence.
In your evidence, please support our campaign for a Men's Health Strategy - this is the most effective way to ensure joined-up, gender-sensitive health care rather than a piecemeal approach.
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.
