Men’s Health Forum wins new peak body funding
The Australian Men’s Health Forum (AMHF) has been awarded three years of new funding (2022-2025) for its work as the nation’s peak body for men’s health.
AMHF is one of 21 health groups across Australia to share in $23.7 million over three years under the Government’s new National Preventative Health Strategy (2021-2030) that was launched today.
The funding will be delivered through the third round of the Health Peak and Advisory Bodies Program, which was established in 2016 and supports a range of health peak bodies like the Australian College of Nursing, The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, the Public Health Association of Australia and the National Rural Health Alliance.
Through the program, AMHF will be able to build on its important work, providing expert, evidence-based and impartial advice to inform current health policy and program development.
According to the Government, the funding recognises the role that organisations like AMHF play in informing health policy by actively consulting with their members to ensure that the views of their sector are equally and fully represented to the Commonwealth.
The funding announcement coincides with the launch of the National Preventive Health Strategy, a 10-year plan to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australians at all stages of life.
The Strategy seeks to improve Australia’s health system by placing an increased focus on prevention.
Glen Poole, CEO of the Australian Men’s Health Forum, said:
“We’re delighted to receive the Government’s backing for our work as the peak body for men’s health in Australia. We also welcome the Government’s commitment to place a greater focus on preventing poor health.
“Every day, nearly 50 men under the age of 75 die in ways that could have been avoided through better preventive health, with men accounting for 2 in 3 potentially preventable deaths in Australia.
“With this new funding, we will be working hard to ensure the new National Preventive Health Strategy tackles men’s health issues directly and aligns with the principles outlined in the National Men’s Health Strategy.
“What this means in practical terms, is ensuring the health system considers the needs and preferences of men and takes action to provide male-friendly information, programs and services.”
The Australian Men’s Health Forum has been working to inform the new National Preventive Health Strategy since 2019. It engaged in consultations with ACOSS and the Public Health Association of Australia in the early stages of the strategy’s development. More recently, AMHF advocated for a greater focus on tackling the health inequities between men and women during public consultations on the Strategy.
In particular, AMHF highlighted the fact that there were 26,700 potentially avoidable deaths in Australia in 2018 (64% were male and 36% were female). Closing this gender health gap would save the lives of around 7,500 men and boys a year.
With funding from the Health Peak and Advisory Bodies, AMHF will continue to make the case for preventive health activity to place a greater focus on work to improve the lives and health of men and boys in Australia.
AMHF also supports work to tackle the health issues that impact women and girls and welcomes the news that the Australian Women's Health Network is one of the 21 health groups selected for funding.
For a full list of all the organisations to received funding, see the Department of Health website.