Today, People’s Health Trust announces a major new collaboration with the UK Government and leading men’s charity Movember aiming to improve the health of underserved men and older boys in England. Through this partnership, the Men’s Health Community Fund will invest at least £6.3 million in community and grassroots organisations working in the country’s most deprived areas, for men facing the worst health outcomes.
The Men’s Health Community Fund will support projects that help address the social and economic pressures driving poor health for men and older boys, during key moments of their lives such as the transition to fatherhood, job loss, or retirement, including challenges related to mental health, debt, housing, family relationships and income. By improving access to the essential building blocks of good health, the fund aims to improve wellbeing and contribute to longer-term gains in healthy life expectancy, employment participation and engagement with local services.
Government data shows that men in the most disadvantaged areas of the country can die up to 11 years earlier than men in wealthy areas. In addition, healthy life expectancy among men has fallen to 60.7 years, the lowest rate in ten years, falling further to 50.9 years in some parts of the country – where the gap in male healthy life expectancy between the most and least affluent areas has reached 19 years.
These inequalities are driven by unequal access to the building blocks of health among men including good housing, a secure income, clean air and good education. In addition, men are disproportionately affected by cancer, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and suicide.
Community and grassroots organisations, alongside family and friends, are among the most likely places that men seek help and talk about their health. They play a vital role in delivering support tailored to men, but they are under-resourced. Grants awarded by People’s Health Trust through the Men’s Health Community Fund will help organisations experienced in working with men and older boys to provide practical support around social and economic pressures, improve mental health, and reduce isolation.
This announcement is a big step forward for the government’s Men’s Health Strategy launched last year. The Fund will open for applications in summer 2026 with grants to be awarded later in the year.
This is part of People’s Health Trust’s wider work on men’s health, which includes the Men’s Health Fund Appeal. The Trust is seeking individuals, companies and philanthropic organisations to contribute to the Trust’s element of the Men’s Health Community Fund. For a limited period, all individual and corporate donations will be matched pound-for-pound by People’s Health Trust up to the first £300,000.
John Hume, People’s Health Trust’s Chief Executive, said:
“People’s Health Trust is proud to be a partner in this innovative programme with the Government and Movember. Our expertise in working with communities to improve health outcomes ensures we reach men at the sharp end of poor health. We design approaches that work for men and connect them with essential support through organisations and people they trust. This programme, along with our Men’s Health Fund Appeal, enables us to address the widening and avoidable inequalities in health experienced by different groups of men across the country. Improving men’s health is good for men, families, communities and businesses.”
Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting said:
“Too many men across the country are living shorter, less healthy lives – particularly those in our most disadvantaged communities.
“This new partnership will help men get the support they need in the places they feel most comfortable – their communities, among people they trust. By working with expert charities and local organisations, we can reach the men who are too often missed by traditional services and help them take better care of their mental and physical health.
“It is a key step in delivering our first ever Men’s Health Strategy and driving forward our ambition to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest areas.”
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Notes to editors
1. Media Enquiries
For People’s Health Trust media enquiries, please contact Bradford Watson – [email protected] / 020 4548 0940
For Department of Health and Social Care media enquiries, please contact Adam Cornell - [email protected]
2. Men’s Health Community Fund
The Men’s Health Community Fund is a new £6.3 million national programme designed to improve the mental and physical health of men and older boys in England who face the greatest barriers to good health. It is led by the national health inequalities charity People’s Health Trust, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the global men’s charity Movember.
The programme aims to support grassroots organisations to work with men experiencing major life pressures – such as entering or leaving work, becoming a father, bereavement, justice system involvement or managing long term illness – as well as those who experience persistent health inequalities linked to poverty, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or social exclusion.
The Fund intends to back community led, relational approaches: such as practical support with day-to-day pressures like housing, debt or employment; mental health support that is designed by and for men; and activities that reduce isolation and build confidence, connection and trust. By strengthening the protective factors around men’s health, the programme aims to improve wellbeing in the short term and contribute to longer term improvements in healthy life expectancy, employment participation and community level engagement with services.
The Fund be will open to applications in summer 2026 and ultimately offer grants of over three years to organisations rooted in the communities they serve. It will also generate learning on what works locally and nationally to reduce health inequalities affecting men and older boys.
3. Grants
Grants will back community projects that reach underserved men and boys aged 16+, particularly in areas experiencing the greatest disadvantage and at key moments in their lives. This could include:
- Community projects that support new fathers
- Support for men experiencing loneliness and social isolation
- Young men’s social connections and engagement with the health system
- Services that support men in work, out of work and moving to retirement
4. People’s Health Trust
People’s Health Trust brings more than 14 years of experience supporting grassroots organisations in disadvantaged communities to find vital and timely solutions to tackle the causes of poor health. Our goal is to stop people dying too young because of avoidable inequalities in wealth, housing, education, and work.
The Trust has strong evidence of improved health outcomes for men and boys in parts of the country that experience the greatest disadvantage, and for men most likely to be affected by declining health and lower life expectancy.
Since 2011 People’s Health Trust has raised £133 million and distributed grants to 3,612 local projects reaching 784,330 people.
5. Department of Health and Social Care
For more information, visit the DHSC website.
6. Movember
For more information, visit the Movember website.
People’s Health Trust has launched a fundraising appeal to help stop men dying too young. Donations from individuals, companies and philanthropic organisations to the appeal will directly support the Trust’s element of the Men’s Health Community Fund. For a limited period, all individual and corporate donations will be matched pound-for-pound by People’s Health Trust up to the first £300,000.
Find out more on how you can donate to the fund, and other ways to Partner with People’s Health Trust.
8. Men’s Health Strategy for England
In November 2025 the government published the first ever Men’s Health Strategy for England, a ten-year plan to improve the health of men and older boys.