Living with purpose, building on health

During Men’s Health Week from 13 to 19 June, communities are invited to promote the health and wellbeing of men and boys through activities and events across Australia.

A boy born in Australia in 2010 has a life expectancy of 78.0 years while a baby girl born at the same time could expect to live to 82.3 years old, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Men take their own lives at four times the rate of women (that’s five men a day on average). Accidents, cancer and heart disease all account for the majority of male deaths.

Right from the start, boys suffer more illness, more accidents and die earlier than their female counterparts.

Furthermore, there are marginalised groups of men, like Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, refugees, men in prison or just released from prison and men of low socioeconomic standing, for whom the health status is far worse even that this.

More than 169 local events around Men’s Health Week will encourage conversations on what makes us healthy. It’s a week of exchange, reflection and action on what issues have an impact on the health of boys and men in your community – and doing something that makes things better.

Men’s Health Week is an initiative by the Men’s Health Information & Resource Centre, Western Sydney University.