In Cambridge, First Lady Jill Biden to announce funding for women’s health issues


First Lady Dr. Jill Biden is expected to appear in Cambridge on Wednesday, where she’ll announce $100 million in federal funding for research and development into women’s health, according to the White House and published reports.

The funding is the first major deliverable 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 is under the federal Department of Health and Human Services, the Associated Press reported.

In remarks as prepared for delivery that were shared with the Associated Press, Mrs. Biden will tell her audience that the administration plans to “build a health care system that puts women and their lived experiences at its center, one where no woman or girl has to hear that ‘it’s all in your head,’ or, ‘it’s just stress;’ where women aren’t just an after-thought, but a first-thought; and where women don’t just survive, they lead long, healthy, and happy lives.”

The White House launched the women’s health initiative last year, with Jill Biden leading the effort with the White House’s Gender Policy Council.

The panel was tasked with “delivering concrete recommendations” to advance women’s health research during the first 45 days of its existence, as well as “taking a targeted, high-impact approach” to deliver those results, according to the White House. It was to do that by “[engaging] the scientific, private sector, and philanthropic communities,” according to the White House.

“Every woman I know has a story about leaving her doctor’s office with more questions than answers,” Jill Biden said in a statement last year, according to Axios Boston, adding later that “there’s just not enough research yet on how to best manage and treat even common women’s health conditions.”


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