WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The White House announced new executive actions Monday meant to improve women’s health and address disparities in research funding.
During an event recognizing Women’s History Month, President Biden said his administration is prioritizing women’s health research.
“Think of all the breakthroughs in medicine we’ve made across the board. But women have not been the focus. Research has taken much too long to get to y’all,” Biden said.
Biden’s executive order was announced along with 20 new actions and commitments by federal agencies. Part of that includes $200 million for the National Institutes of Health to focus on women.
“The most comprehensive set of executive actions ever put in place by a president to advance women’s health research,” Katie Keith said.
Keith is Deputy Assistant to the President on the Gender Policy Council. She said more research will help solve long unanswered questions.
“Examples like women make up two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients, but we don’t know why that is. Women are 80% of those with autoimmune diseases, and we don’t have an understanding,” Keith said.
Director of Women’s Health Policy at the health organization KFF, Alina Salganicoff says a lack of research has made it challenging for women to get the treatments they need.
“There’s been longstanding well-documented gaps in women’s health research that affects women’s health status, the drugs that are available for them to take,” Salganicoff said.
Salganicoff says this is a good step, but it won’t have immediate effects. She said this is just a fraction of the $12 billion President Biden asked Congress for.
“Even if he were to get that money from Congress to do this, it is important to recognize that basic research, clinical research takes time. These studies need to be developed and funded and published,” Salganicoff said.
