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Put away your razor - Grow your Mo'!

17 November 2011

If it's November it must be "Mo-vember", the month men are encouraged to grow their facial hair to draw attention to men's health issues.

For 30 days, moustachioed men - known as Mo Bro's - become walking adverts, prompting conversations on health and wellness, as well as helping to raise funds for various campaigns.

Brand South Africa is also in on the act, urging all to "Play Your Part" and help improve the quality of life of all men. It calls on South Africans to support Movember, to help educate the public and bring about change.

Miller Matola, CEO of Brand South Africa, says: "A healthy society equals a productive society."

An appreciation for health and awareness needs to be created, he adds.

Men's health largely ignored

Men's health, in particular diseases that affect only them, such as prostate cancer, is a topic that is largely ignored. Yet early detection, diagnosis and treatment can save lives.

To start with, clean-shaven men can register at za.movember.com - then go on to create the finest, most exotic moustaches they can, with a wide range of sartorial options from which to choose. There's the Handlebar, the Pencil, the Pancho Villa, the Walrus and the Dali, to name just a few!

Mo Sistas, the women supporters, are not neglected in the month-long efforts - they help by finding sponsors for the Mo Bros' efforts.

Since its beginnings in Australia in 2003, Movember has become a global movement inspiring more than a million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to take part. There are now campaigns annually in Australia and New Zealand, the US and Canada, the UK and Ireland, across Europe in Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and the Czech Republic, and in South Africa.

Gaining traction in South Africa

Movember has been gaining traction and uptake among South African men - and with good reason. Society still overlooks the issue of cancers in men and programmes and projects that aim to bring attention to better health in men.

The first thing that needs to be addressed is that men, contrary to how they have been raised and what they have been taught, are not impervious to illness; nor are they invincible. Cancer is a disease that affects the lives of many South Africans and should be seen as challenge to be addressed through collective effort.

How can you play your part? Play Your Part is a social movement created by Brand South Africa to encourage all South Africans to do something positive, be it big or small.

It is aimed at ordinary people as well as civil society, the government, corporate and non-governmental organisations. All South Africans have access to resources that can contribute to a better future, including time, money, skills or goods.

SAinfo reporter