The first ever European Men’s Health Forum conference climaxed with the launch of the Vienna Declaration – a major document addressing the future of men’s health.
Held over two days in Vienna, 29 September - 1 October, the event gathered more than 50 representatives of organisations with an interest in men's health in 18 European countries.
Researchers, patient representatives, health professionals, social workers, politicians, and government officials all came together to share ideas and good practices to improve the state of men’s health in Europe.
The main outcomes of the event was the signature of the first Declaration on the health of men and boys in Europe by more than 40 delegates present at the conference and at the World Congress on Men’s Health. This Declaration will now be translated in several languages so it can be easily accessed and understood by the largest number of readers.
Ludovic Lacaine of the EMHF said: ‘The original idea of a declaration sprang from a meeting of the EMHF network representatives earlier in March. The first draft was then developed by the EMHF secretariat which submitted it to consultation to its Board of Directors, to the EMHF network members as well as to supporters of men’s health across Europe.’
More than 50 organisations and individuals from a range of perspectives participated in the consultation, the results of which were gathered in one document which reflected the very strong consensus already achieved after the consultation process.
The conference’s other achievements included the development of guidelines for future joint activities. ‘A survey held during the event among all delegates underlined that the activity most frequently requested was joint meetings, as in Vienna,’ said Ludovic.
You can show your support for men’s health by endorsing the Declaration. You can download it along with its background document from our Declaration page where you will also find all the instructions for endorsement.
Photo: the platform at Vienna with EMHF president Ian Banks, Claudia Sedlmeier (Deputy Chief of the Department I/A/3, Austrian Federal Ministry of Health and Women) and EMHF committee member and MEP John Bowis.
