EMHF Responds to the “State of Men’s Health in Europe”
The European Commission recently published a “State of Men’s Health in Europe” Report (large PDF file). This report highlights that the health of European men is a serious concern, and draws upon data from the 27 European Union countries plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Lichenstein, Croatia, Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. However, while acknowledging that every year twice as many men of working age (16-64 years) die compared to women, the European Commission offers few suggestions or recommendations as to how to address this situation. To fill this void, the European Men’s Health Forum (EMHF) has produced a document which starts from the simple position that males should not, necessarily, die earlier, and that there are things that can be done to change their lives for the better. This response is available online, and challenges politicians, health professionals, employers, educators, social engineers and men, themselves, to not only ask why this situation occurs, but also what should be done about it and how.