Men’s health sector calls for significant funding to improve health outcomes for all men and boys
Key organisations from the men’s health sector are calling for a substantial lift in funding to support initiatives outlined in the Government’s National Men’s Health Strategy 2020-2030.
With Australians expected to head to the polls in the first five months of 2025, Movember has called for $70 million investment to fund evidence-based programs “that are proven effective in improving physical and mental health outcomes for boys and men, helping to ensure the National Men’s Health Strategy can deliver on its promise of reducing preventable deaths.”
Movember has pledged $10 million towards delivering “meaningful improvements in men’s health, due to chronic underfunding over its first 5 years.”
The $70 million investment would be used to develop a stronger and more responsive healthcare system, “ultimately leading to better health outcomes for men, their families, and communities across Australia.”
The breakdown
As stated in Movember’s Australian Election Platform 2025, fundings would be distributed accordingly:
- $53m over four years for grassroots community programs that are proven to be effective in helping men and boys improve health outcomes.
- $11.5m over four years for training health professionals to better reach, respond and connect with men.
- $5.5m over four years to fast-track research on the relationship between men’s health, masculine norms, healthy relationships and issues like violence.
50 men a day in Australia die from preventable causes, and two in five (37%) die prematurely before they are 75 years old. Suicide is the leading cause of death in men aged between 15 and 44 in Australia, with more than 2400 deaths by suicide in 2023. Three-quarters of all deaths by suicide in Australia are male.
Movember is one of 10 organisations that form the Australian Men and Boys’ Health Alliance [AMBA], established in May 2023 at a men’s health direction-setting meeting initiated by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.
In a pre-budget submission 2024-25, AMBHA called on the Government to provide adequate funding for evidence-based and evidence-building male health initiatives that address the National Men’s Health Strategy’s priorities and objectives, notably:
- Empower and support men and boys to optimise the health and wellbeing of themselves and each other.
- Build the evidence base for improving men’s health.
- Strengthen the capacity of the health system to provide appropriate high-quality care for men and boys.
The Alliance’s ongoing role is to develop sector-wide agreement on priorities for the implementation of the National Men’s Health Strategy 2020-2030, which outlines a national approach to reducing inequalities and improving health outcomes for all men and boys.
Download
National Men’s Health Strategy 2020-2030
Australian Men and Boys’ Health Alliance Pre-Budget Submission 2024-25
Movember’s Australian Election Platform 2025