Men’s health is as important as women’s health, but it’s rarely talked about-by men themselves in private settings, and most definitely not in public settings, and the media. Movember is the leading charity for men’s health so that our brothers, fathers, grandfathers, uncles, and really all the men in our lives can take care of their bodies and minds.
In particular, Movember focuses on the main problems negatively impacting men’s health today: mental health and suicide prevention, prostrate cancer, and testicular cancer. In fact, globally, testicular cancer is one of the most common cancers among young men, and one man commits suicide every minute of the day. Shockingly, males account for 69% of all suicides. On average, men die five years earlier than women, as well. Movember is working to change that — by helping men get the preventative medical checkups and care they need.
Since 2003, Movember has thus funded more than 1,250 projects internationally. Movember is improving men’s health by disseminating useful information for men to change their behavior for the better and create better healthcare services that work for men by partnering with the brightest minds in medicine and psychology. So far, Movember has been able to fund projects in twenty countries and has partnered with twenty health partners.
While Movember’s impact is far-reaching, the fundamentals of men’s health can be boiled down to five pillars: being proactive about being social and talking about problems with your inner circle or a professional; talk in general, not only about problems, but about daily goings-on; once you hit fifty-years-old, or forty-five years old if you’re of African or Caribbean descent; it’s prime time to visit your doctor to check for prostate cancer; be aware of what’s normal for your testicles; and integrate being active into your daily life, whether it’s taking the stairs or biking to work.
Fundamentally, Movember wants to normalize taking men’s health seriously — among men foremost, and of course, all the people in their lives. It takes a village, and the first place for accountability and better mental, physical health is undoubtedly men themselves. Movember is working with men worldwide to prioritize their health each and every day, starting today.