Ally Fogg
Chair, Men and Boys Coalition
Men’s health is about more than curing individual diseases or solving specific problems. It requires a coherent, strategic approach.
Many of us know the statistics by now. We know how much more likely men are to develop this disease or that, or how much more likely they are to die younger as a result.
State of men’s health today
We may also know about men’s fragile mental and emotional health, the incomprehensible numbers of men taking their own lives each day and the heartbreak and devastation left behind. You may also know that men are less likely to seek support for their mental health — from doctors, services or friends.
You do not need me to quantify men’s lifestyles, the unhealthy diets, how much they drink, the unused gym memberships, the rates of dependency and addiction. We’ve heard it before. On the off chance that you don’t know all this already, I assure you the Department of Health has known for a long time.
These issues are
intimately connected,
overlapping and consequent.
A coherent response
The problem with listing statistics is it implies these are all different problems, isolated and separate. Yet, these issues are intimately connected, overlapping and consequent. Addressing them requires a coherent, unified approach.
For many years now, the charity I chair — alongside colleagues across the male health and wellbeing sector — has campaigned for a national men’s health strategy to provide this coherence. If the isolated issues are a pile of bricks, a strategy would be the mortar that grips them together into a strong, protective wall. In calling for this, we note the progress that has already been delivered in countries like Ireland and Australia, which have similar strategies. It would also build on the welcome introduction of the national women’s health strategy, established in 2022.
Men’s health neglected
In March, Health Secretary Wes Streeting wrote that he intends to introduce such a strategy for men. It was a hugely welcome announcement, but things have since gone quiet. There was no promise in the Labour manifesto and no commitment in the King’s Speech.
We cannot allow his promise to be dropped. For the sake of men, their families and a healthier, happier, more prosperous society we need to hold him to his word. Don’t make men reach for the statistics — not anymore.
