WEDNESDAY last week was International Men’s Day. The government announced the launch of the first ever Men’s Health Strategy.

For too long, men's health has been overlooked and there has been a reluctance to accept that men suffer specific inequalities and hardships.

The fact is that life can be really difficult for men in today’s society. Men are dying nearly four years earlier than women, and suicide remains one of the leading causes of death for men under 50.

The most recent statistics of men taking their own lives in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle is eye-watering. There is so much more that can and must be done.

Under Labour, men and boys will benefit from boosted healthcare and support focused on their specific needs with comprehensive action to address the physical and mental health challenges facing men and boys. Men can be less likely to seek help and more likely to suffer in silence.

This, combined with a higher propensity to smoke, drink, gamble and use drugs, means men's health is suffering, having a significant impact on families, workplaces and communities. Suicide is one of the biggest killers of men under 50 and three quarters of all suicides are men.

So the Labour government is investing £3.6-million over the next three years specifically in suicide prevention projects for middle-aged men in local communities where men are at most risk of taking their own lives, including some of the most deprived areas.

The projects will break down barriers that middle-aged men face in seeking support, such as the stigma associated with seeking help and a lack of awareness of what is available and how to access it. Projects will be co-designed with experts and men with lived experience of mental health crisis and suicidal thoughts.

Men with prostate cancer will also benefit from improved care through the strategy, including the development of home prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for those being monitored for the disease. From 2027, once tested and approved, men diagnosed with prostate cancer which is being actively monitored or treated will be able to order and complete PSA blood tests at home, or book an in-person blood test locally, via the NHS App.

Other key commitments in the Men’s Health Strategy include: Investing £3-million into community-based men’s health programmes, designed to reach those most at risk and least likely to engage with traditional services; Workplace health pilots through the Keep Britain Working Vanguard Programme to support male workers in male-dominated industries; Enhanced lung disease support for former miners, with increased investment in the Respiratory Pathways Transformation Fund in areas with significant former mining communities; Funding research to help prevent, diagnose, treat and manage the major male killers and causes of unhealthy life years in men.

The men’s health strategy is not just a plan, it is a call to action: to create a society where men and boys are supported to live longer, healthier and happier lives where stigma is replaced by understanding; and where every man knows that his health matters.