President Biden has announced plans to sign an executive order on Monday that will expand research and improve government initiatives on women’s health. This move will coincide with a White House Women’s History Month reception. The goal of the executive order is to ensure that women’s health is integrated and prioritized across the federal research portfolio and budget, with a specific focus on the administration’s Initiative on Women’s Health Research.
As part of this initiative, President Biden has announced over 20 actions from federal agencies outlining how they will prioritize research on women’s health. The executive order directs relevant agencies to strengthen research and data standards on women’s health to better leverage federal funding. Agencies will also be directed to prioritize funding for women’s health research and encourage innovation in this area.
Furthermore, the executive order will direct the Office of Management and Budget and the Gender Policy Council to assess gaps in federal funding for women’s health and identify potential changes. The first lady, Jill Biden, has also announced more than 20 commitments and actions through various federal agencies like the Pentagon, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the National Science Foundation.
One of the key actions will be the launch of an effort that will direct investments of $200 million in fiscal year 2025 to fund new women’s health research. President Biden has previously called on Congress to create a Fund for Women’s Health Research at the National Institutes of Health. The executive order signing and announcements will take place during a White House reception to mark Women’s History Month, following the first lady’s announcement in February of $100 million in federal funding for research and development into women’s health through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA–H).
