Men’s health is unnecessarily poor throughout the world. Globally, male life expectancy is just 71 years and under 50 in Lesotho.

There are major inequalities within countries too. In England, the life expectancy gap for men between the wealthiest and poorest neighbourhoods is 22 years. Race is also a key factor: in the USA, Black males live eight years fewer than White males.

Global public health organisations have not identified men’s health as an issue or taken any significant steps to address the problems. Men are almost entirely absent from global public health policy.

Global Action on Men’s Health (GAMH) exists to address this inequality. GAMH is working to:

• Encourage the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international agencies involved in public health to develop research, policies and strategies on men’s health
• Urge individual states and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to implement measures to tackle men’s health problems
• Provide guidance on how to take effective action on men’s health
• Focus primarily on public health and the social determinants of health

GAMH acts as a focal point for a new network of men’s health and other organisations around the world that support its aims and objectives.

GAMH is supported by an increasing number of men’s health organisations around the world and welcomes the involvement of others who support its goals.

GAMH fully supports initiatives to improve women’s health and does not believe that resources currently allocated to women’s health should be transferred to men’s health.