Friday, 15 June 2007

Why is Labour ignoring International Men’s Health Week?

The Government’s silence during International Men’s Health Week (June 11-17) has been deafening, according to United Future’s deputy leader Judy Turner.

International Men's Health Week aims to raise public awareness of specific health problems affecting men and boys as well as educate them about the importance of their health and wellbeing.

“I have been waiting all week to see some kind of recognition of International Men’s Health Week from Labour, but they have not even acknowledged its existence,” says Mrs Turner.

“With male suicide rates at around 300% of females, and the rate for Maori men even higher, we have tragic confirmation that men’s health needs more recognition, but this is being completely ignored.

“Prostate cancer kills around the same numbers of men as breast cancer does women, yet there isn’t the funding, education or screening programmes. It is simply ignored.

“Men die years 5 ½ years before women and are healthy for a shorter time. They account for nearly all workplace deaths. Men under 75 years are almost three times more likely to die from coronary heart disease, stroke and vascular disease than women in the same age group.

"I would have thought these figures would prompt the Government to take seriously the fact that men are getting shorter and less healthy lives to live."

The Australian government last year marked International Men’s Health Week by announcing that $7.5 million would be spent on prostate cancer research, and that $34.1 million had been allocated to research projects that focussed on men’s health in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal diseases, diabetes, mental health, and neurological and neuromuscular disorders.

“If the Labour Government put as much time and money into closing the health and life expectancy gap as they do the income gap, a huge number of families would still have fathers, husbands, brothers and sons that are no longer with them,” says Mrs Turner.

ENDS