Investments In Both Men’s, Women’s Health Needed To Ensure ‘Better Health For All’

The Telegraph: The forgotten sex: why is men’s health ignored by policymakers?
Peter Baker, director at Global Action on Men’s Health

“…Men’s health is notable by its absence in most global and national health policies and funding programs. … World Health Organization (WHO) data published earlier this month show that the probability of a man aged 30 dying from [a non-communicable disease (NCD)] before 70 is almost 50 percent higher than for a woman aged 30. … WHO is now realizing that the [Sustainable Development Goals’] targets simply cannot be met unless greater account is taken of men. … Global Action on Men’s Health, an international network of men’s health organizations, researchers, and advocates, has set out some key ways forward in its new report on men and self-care. These include the development of health policies (including national men’s health policies) that recognize the needs of men, measures to improve men’s health literacy, making health services more accessible to men, and better training in men’s health for health professionals. It is also essential for services to take account of male gender norms, in other words the ways men have been brought up to think and behave. … Programs and policies to improve men’s health must complement those aimed at women. There is no binary choice here. Investment is needed in the health of both sexes to ensure better health for all” (4/15).

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