Jill Biden is announcing $100 million in funding for research and development into women’s health
WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Jill Biden on Wednesday announced $100 million in federal funding for women’s health research and development as part of a new White House initiative she is leading.
The funding is the first major achievement of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, which was announced late last year. The money comes from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, or ARPA-H, which falls under the federal Department of Health and Human Services.
The first lady was expected to announce the ARPA-H Sprint for Women’s Health during an appearance Wednesday in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Biden has said women don’t know enough about their health because research has historically been underfunded and flawed. The White House initiative aims to change the approach to women’s health research and increase its funding.
“We will close the gaps, we will accelerate new ideas and transform the lives of women,” the first lady will say, according to excerpts of her prepared remarks shared with The Associated Press.
“We will build a healthcare system that centers women and their experiences, a system where no woman or girl needs to be told ‘it’s all in your head’, or ‘it’s just stress;’ where women are not just an afterthought, but a first thought; and where women not only survive, but live long, healthy and happy lives,” she says.
President Joe Biden created the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health in 2022 to work to advance solutions to health problems. The agency is part of what he called his “unity agenda.”
According to the White House, in the coming weeks the agency will identify ideas for groundbreaking research and development to address women’s health.
The first lady said last year, when the White House initiative was announced, that it grew out of a meeting she had with Maria Shriver, a women’s health advocate and former first lady from California. Shriver, Biden said, spoke about the need for a public-private effort to close the gaps in women’s health research.
The White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research is led by Jill Biden and the White House Gender Policy Council.