Mon Sep 23 23:15:31 UTC 2024: ## Pentagon Pledges $500 Million Annually to Advance Women’s Health Research
**New York, NY** – First Lady Jill Biden announced on Monday that the Pentagon will dedicate $500 million annually to research focused on women’s health, a significant step in the White House’s larger push for gender equality in healthcare.
“The Department of Defense has now committed half a billion dollars to women’s health, to women in the service, which then transcends to all women,” Biden stated at the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting. This funding will be used to study conditions impacting women, including arthritis, chronic fatigue, and cardiovascular health.
The Department of Defense highlighted the importance of this investment, noting the significant health disparities women face compared to men. Women in the military, including over 230,000 active duty personnel and two million retirees, experience more than twice the rate of conditions in areas such as blood disorders, urinary tract health, hormone imbalances, nutrition, and immunity.
This initiative follows President Joe Biden’s March order aimed at closing gender gaps in clinical trials and healthcare. The order allocated $200 million for a new Fund on Women’s Health in fiscal year 2025.
This commitment signifies a major step towards addressing the historical neglect of women’s health in medical research. Only in 1993 did Congress pass a law mandating female participation in government-funded clinical trials, highlighting the long-standing lack of focus on gender-specific health needs.
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