English councils call for national men’s health strategy

Councils across England have urged the government to create a national men’s health strategy after uncovering stark discrepancies in life expectancy between men living in wealthy and deprived areas.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said the issue should be “recognised as a national concern”. A report by the body – Men’s Health: the Lives of Men In Our Communities – claims men in deprived areas live up to 10 years less than their counterparts in wealthy areas, with smoking and excessive alcohol consumption contributing factors to the gap.

David Fothergill, the chair of the LGA’s community wellbeing board, said: “Men in England are facing a silent health crisis, dying nearly four years earlier than women with high rates of cancers, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and suicides.

“Stark inequalities mean men in deprived areas live almost 10 years less than their more affluent peers.”

Fothergill said some programmes by local councils were “making strides”, buta men’s health strategy was needed.

The LGA also called for local suicide prevention funding to be reinstated. In England and Wales, suicide is the leading cause of death among men aged 20-34, and the suicide rate generally is three times higher for men than women.

A £57m pot helping local authorities to provide support to those at risk of suicide ended in March.

Among the schemes already in place are Gateshead council’s Man v Fat programme to help overweight men improve their health through football, as well as a £2.5m initiative by Islington council to enhance mental health support for young black men.

“We are calling for men’s health to be recognised as a national concern, and for the government to implement a men’s health strategy,” Fothergill said. “Innovative local initiatives led by councils are making strides, but national action is needed to help close the life expectancy gap.”

A 10-year women’s health strategy was unveiled by the government in 2022 with the aim of improving how the healthcare system interacts with women and girls.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “There are unacceptable health inequalities across the UK and we are determined to tackle them to help people live longer, happier and healthier lives.

“The NHS is broken. We will get the NHS back on its feet and shift the focus from simply treating sickness to prevention.

“Our 10 Year Plan for Health will outline how we will ensure men are able to access the support and targeted interventions they need.

“Our plans to reduce obesity, improve cancer survival rates and enhance mental health services will also help to tackle the main drivers of poor health in men.”

The call by the LGA echoes that of the charity group Movember, which published a report in July warning that more than 133,000 men die early every year in the UK, equating to 15 every hour. The charity also found that two in five men are dying prematurely before the age of 75, often from entirely avoidable health conditions.

The charity argued the leading causes of death, such as lung cancer and heart disease, could be prevented by cutting out smoking, reducing alcohol intake, eating well and attending health screenings and other health appointments.

• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org