NB: This article was first published in October 2018 and refers to the draft Men's Health Strategy. It has not been updated to reflect the final version of the National Men's Strategy launched on 11 April 2019. 

The Government’s new Men’s Health Strategy shows that Australia continues to lead the world when it comes to improving men’s health. Australia is one of the world’s healthiest societies and ranks in the top 10 for life expectancy worldwide

news.com.au, the news and entertainment website, has launched a campaign to highlight the issue of male suicide. The Australian Men's Health Forum (AMHF) has been involved in "The Silent Killer: Let’s make some noise" campaign, providing expert opinion on some of the actions we need to take to prevent male suicide. 

The Government has published its Draft National Men's Health Strategy and you have until Monday 5th November 2018 to make sure you have your say. If you want to help create a healthier future for men and boys in Australia, then make your voice heard by making time to repsond to the Government consultation on its draft strategy. 

Today is World Mental Health Day (Wednesday 10th October 2018) and to mark the day we've produced a list of 10 surprising facts about men and boys' mental health, some of which you may not know.

If you share our commitment to creating a healthier future for men and boys then we invite you to share this information with others. We'd also love to hear from you about any news, research, information, events or programs focused on men’s mental health that you think we should be promoting.

In the meantime, here's our list of 10 surprising facts about men's mental health in Australia:

This week is Sleep Awareness Week (1-7 October 2017), but what has sleep got to do with men’s health? Well, according to the Sleep Health Foundation, sleep problems can be bad for our health, just like other commonly cited risk factors such as obesity, smoking, drinking too much and not exercising enough. Research has also found are also some notable differences between men’s and women’s experiences of sleep problems.

Sleep Awareness Week (1-7 October 2017), provides a great opportunity to start a conversation about dads and sleep. If you are wondering why it’s important for people in dads’ lives to talk to them about sleep, here are three good reasons:

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has launched a male-friendly health prevention service that’s taking off in South Australia.

Best known for its emergency retrievals, RFDS is also involved in primary and preventative health and its medical teams have begun targeting outback events like rodeos to promote men’s health.

The number of male suicides in Australia has risen by nearly 10% from 2,151 deaths in 2016 to 2,348 deaths in 2017, the highest annual figure in over a decade. Suicide now kills more than 8 Australians a day, taking the lives of more than 6 men and 2 women a day on average.

Conversations about improving men’s health often focus on how to get men to talk and how to encourage men to get help. A new report from the UK turns this conversation on its head by offering best practice advice to nurses on ways to talk with men about health issues, as well as providing guidance to nurses on how to deliver effective health services to men.

Australian Men are twice as likely to get cancer as the rest of the world according to new data from the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

Men in Australia have a 1 in 2 chance of getting cancer before the age of 75 (compared to less that 1 in 4 worldwide). For Australian women the chances of getting cancer are 1 in 3.