President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Wednesday celebrated progress on their push to boost research on women’s health and vowed to continue the fight as the pair prepares to leave the White House in less than six weeks.
Speaking from the White House East Room on Wednesday morning, the president referred to the effort as “some of the most important work this administration has ever done.”
“This initiative lays the groundwork for discovery and research for generations to come. Mark my words,” President Biden said. “And the benefits we gain tomorrow will happen because we made the decision to do something about it today.”
The first lady called for this to “be the moment that we push harder.”
“We — all of us — we have built the momentum," she said. "Now it's up to us to make it unstoppable."
The first couple’s remarks put the cap on the White House’s first-ever Conference on Women’s Health Research, which featured speeches from other officials and leaders on the issue and two panel discussions. The conference comes as part of the Biden administration’s efforts to close gaps between information and knowledge on women's and men's health issues.
A report by the World Economic Forum and the McKinsey Health Institute released in January found women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health despite living longer on average than men.
“The United States has the best health research in the world,” the first lady noted on Wednesday. “Yet women’s health is under-studied, and research is underfunded.”
“For example, we know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for women,” Jill Biden added. “But we don’t know — we don’t know enough about how menopause may affect heart disease. That’s going to change now.”
The Bidens noted that they have galvanized nearly $1 billion to address the inequities in research since the official launch of the initiative late last year. The first lady – who the president tapped to lead the effort – has traveled the country and also participated in events in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to bring attention to the issue.
"The goal was to fundamentally change and improve how we approach and invest in women's health research," President Biden said.
Earlier this year, the president signed an executive order aimed at leveling the research playing field, in part by boosting funding opportunities, encouraging innovation and strengthening data collection. Since then, more than 100 actions have been taken across federal agencies to prioritize women’s health research, according to the White House.
