President Donald Trump signed an executive order on October 19 directing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a new Women's Health Division within 90 days, alongside a White House task force intended to coordinate federal efforts to improve women's health. The initiative, championed by First Lady Melania Trump, aims to strengthen research into conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women and help translate scientific findings into better prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
The move comes amid longstanding concerns about the share of federal research funding devoted to women's health. A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report found that women's health research accounted for 7.9% of NIH grant funding in fiscal year 2023, raising questions about whether existing research priorities adequately address women's health needs.
