Led by Men's Health Network, representatives from six leading men's health organisations around the world met at the 2nd World Congress on Men's Health in Vienna, Austria in 2002 and resolved to work together to launch International Men's Health Week (IMHW). The goal is to increase awareness of male health issues on a global level and to encourage inter- and intra-national institutions to develop health policies and services that meet the specific needs of men, boys, and their families.

Men don't talk, we're told. So for Men's Health Week 2024 we're encouraging men to share their stories.

We're taking our lead from King Charles who, earlier this year, shared that he had a problem with an enlarged prostate. On the day after his announcement, there were 16,410 visits to the relevant National Health Service website page compared with 1,414 visits the previous day. Prostate Cancer UK saw an almost doubling in the number of users of its online risk checker.

This goes to show the difference that honest sharing can make. Most of us won't have same impact as the King of England - for a while in the UK media, it was difficult to avoid urologists talking about the prostate and the things that can go wrong with it - but if there is a taboo about men's talking, well, the best way to beat a taboo is to ignore it.

P For Prostate

We'll be producing a new man manual P For Prostate looking at all aspects of the prostate - from where it is and what it does through to various problems it can cause for men.

Share Your Story

But it's not just prostates we should be talking about. Whatever's going on with your health, sharing it may well help you and, by putting a difficult topic on the agenda, it will certainly help others.

Click here to learn more.