Gender and Health; are you on the right side?

As we already know, men are on the losing end of the health care battle in this province. It took us many years of hard fighting to get to a point where prostate testing was covered under the OHIP umbrella.

Men have a lower life expectancy than that of women, yet we continue to be overlooked by the leaders of the province.

Is this because the leaders are anti-men? No. The reason is that helping men improve their health doesn't buy you votes. Similarly, helping young boys do better in school in order to repair the now incredible gender-education gap won't buy you votes either.

About all that either would do is prompt a lawsuit from some fringe wackos who seem to think that it is sexist to offer men a fighting chance.(And we all know that this would happen)

Yesterday I was amazed to see an article about a local Ottawa University professor who has been named to chair the new women's health agency; echo.
Although it has a new name and new chair; the agency is really just a re-working of the old women's health agency. like its predecessor, the agency will operate under the auspices of the Ministry of health, and receive a hefty budget ( $7.6 million )

Why is it that we are ear-marking $7.6 million dollars towards women's health, when we have crippling wait times, a doctor shortage, and an aging population that will cost the province a fortune in health costs.

I'm all for improving the health of women in the province; but I would expect some parity. We can't continue to ignore the very real issues that face men.

But lets ignore the obvious sexism for a moment, and focus on the role of this organization.

"
Echo’s role will be to:
• Conduct, fund and partner on research initiatives in women’s health
• Provide input to government policy, in collaboration with stakeholders, to improve the health status of women, and promote the provision of accessible, effective and equitable care for women
• Collect and distribute information on women’s health through a variety of communication tools and services.
• Advise the minister on health issues affecting women
"

So basically, the role is one of advocacy; government funded advocacy.

But lets just say for a moment that the organization is going to do some very good work, spread information and encourage women to make sure they take care of themselves...

just who are they going to see for medical treatment ?

**Bonus reading material**

A Search on the Ontario Ministry of Health Website displays 37 results for "Men's Health"

A Search on the Ontario Ministry of Health Website displays 406 results for "Women's Health"