The government launches bold plan to tackle physical and mental health challenges faced by men and boys, and reduce inequalities
Men and boys across England will benefit from tailored healthcare and support as the government launches its first Men’s Health Strategy.
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Launched on International Men’s Day, the bold plan sets out comprehensive action to tackle the physical and mental health challenges men and boys face every day.
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. This strategy will help give men and boys to get on and live longer, healthier lives.
Suicide is one of the biggest killers of men under 50 and three quarters of all suicides are men. That’s why the government is investing £3.6 million over the next three years in suicide prevention projects for middle-aged men in local communities across areas of England where men are at most risk of taking their own lives, including some of the most deprived areas in the country. This comes on top of expanding mental health teams in schools to ensure an additional 900,000 pupils have access to support by April 2026.
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.
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The focus on suicide prevention includes a partnership on the Premier League’s Together Against Suicide initiative with the Samaritans, which looks to help tackle the stigma around men’s mental health and embed health messaging into the matchday experience.
Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said:
Together Against Suicide was launched by the Premier League in September 2025 and provides matchday support for fans in stadiums, initially through 11 pilot clubs, as well as providing an online hub of information for fans and followers watching from home.
This partnership will enhance that support by ensuring clubs are working closely with their local NHS trusts, increasing their knowledge and training on suicide prevention, as well as actively promoting existing mental health and suicide prevention support such as NHS Talking Therapies and Every Mind Matters.
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Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Masters, said:
Men face a range of barriers in accessing healthcare services, such as stigma and services that are not responsive to men’s needs - we want men to overcome these issues and stop too many cases of preventable deaths.
This strategy puts men’s health front and centre, addressing the challenges men face and designing solutions with men, for men.
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, subject to clinical approval, 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.
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Other key commitments in the Men’s Health Strategy include:
The men’s health strategy supports the government’s ambition to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions, while increasing it for everyone.
It tackles unhealthy behaviours, loneliness and social isolation, and harmful societal norms that prevent men seeking help, focusing on places that men frequent such as workplaces and sports clubs to drive change.
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Michelle Terry, Chief Executive Officer, Movember said:
Julie Bentley, Chief Executive Officer, Samaritans said:
Chiara De Biase, Director of Health Services, Equity and Improvement at Prostate Cancer UK, said:
This first ever men’s health strategy is a crucial first step, laying the foundation from which we can learn, change and improve the approach. It 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.
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A stakeholder group will oversee implementation of the strategy, with the government publishing a one year report to ensure accountability.
Musician and Movember ambassador Professor Green (Stephen Manderson) said:
Lord Foster of Bath, Chair of Action on Gambling, said:
Greg Fell, President of the Association of Directors of Public Health, said:
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive at the British Heart Foundation said:
Mark Brooks OBE, Director of Policy, Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys:
James Grimes, Director of Chapter One, Gambling with Lives:
Peter Baker, Chief Executive, Global Action on Men’s Health, said:
Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, Chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing committee, said:
Dr John Chisholm CBE, Chair of the Men’s Health Forum, said:
Caroline Ellis, CEO of the UK Men’s Sheds Association, said:
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Chief Executive Officer of the NIHR said:
General Secretary to the National Union of Mineworkers Chris Kitchen said: