Tuesday, September 24 – Mala Adiga, JD, MPH, Deputy Assistant to the President and Policy Director to the First Lady Dr. Jill Biden from the United States White House, gave remarks during the Women’s Unique Health Needs and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) event, a call to action co-hosted by ECHAlliance and the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR). This event is taking place during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79) Science Summit in New York City.
“Women often leave their health care provider with more questions than answers, because too much of our medical knowledge is based on men,” Adiga said in her remarks.
She shared highlights from the White House Initiative for Women’s Health Research, announced in November 2023 as a first-of-its-kind initiative “ensuring that research on women’s health is a priority and galvanizing new research on a wide range of topics,” according to the White House website. Among its work, the initiative has spurred:
- The ARPA-H Sprint for Women’s Health, investing $100 million to fund innovations that will be life changing for women’s health
- A pledge from the National Institues of Health of $200 million to close gaps in women’s health research across the lifespan
- An Executive Order on Advancing Women’s Health Research and Innovation, “to make the government work better for women’s health research, so that when the United States funds research, it includes women from the beginning,” added Adiga
Adiga also spoke about the new Department of Defense commitment to invest $500 million in women’s health research, announced by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden during a Clinton Global Initiative event on September 23, also in New York City this week.
“President Biden and Dr. Biden know we must invest in women’s health, and all of this momentum feels unstoppable,” said Adiga. When we work together, we can “rewrite a different future for women.”
Adiga’s full remarks as well as a recording of the Women’s Unique Health Needs and the SDGs event will be available online this fall. A summary report of the proceedings from this event will be published later this year.
Learn more about “Women’s Unique Health Needs and the SDGs, a call to action”.
ECHAlliance is the Global Connector for Digital Health connecting 78 Countries and 4.4 billion people. As a member organisation, ECHAlliance brings its global community together in a network of ecosystems that match need and solution, break down silos, transform healthcare, transfer best practices and lessons learned and create economic opportunities. We connect the healthcare dots across the globe.
The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR) is a national nonprofit and thought leader dedicated to advancing women’s health through science, policy, and education while promoting research on sex differences to optimize women’s health. Founded in 1990 by a group of physicians, medical researchers, and health advocates, SWHR is making women’s health mainstream by addressing unmet needs and research gaps in women’s health. Thanks to SWHR’s efforts, women are now routinely included in most major medical research studies and more scientists are considering sex as a biological variable in their research.
