The key facts

  • Trump signed an executive order establishing the Office of Women's Health at NIH and a White House task force
  • The task force is led by Susie Wiles and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
  • The NIH unit will be established within 90 days

Signing of the Executive Order

US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, on Monday, October 19, signed an executive order aimed at advancing women's health research. The document provides for the creation of an Office of Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a White House Women's Health Task Force. Their goal is to close gaps in research and modernize women's medical care.

Statements by Trump and the First Lady

Trump stated that his administration intends to ensure that medical research, diagnostics, prevention, and treatment are based on high-quality scientific data and improve health outcomes at all stages of life. Melania Trump, before the ceremony, called it 'a turning point for women in America' and added: 'Previous generations fought for women's rights. Our generation will fight to find cures that will enable women to live in health and fully realize their potential.'

White House Task Force

The task force, which held its first meeting on the day the order was signed, is led by White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Its tasks include coordinating women's health policy across all federal agencies, translating research findings into evidence-based medical practice, improving prevention and access to care, and proposing changes to policy and regulation.

NIH Office and Priorities

The Office of Women's Health will be established within the NIH structure within 90 days. It will coordinate and expand research into understudied diseases affecting women, improve the representation of women and girls in clinical trials, accelerate the development of diagnostic and treatment methods, and strengthen oversight of accounting for biological sex differences in research. Melania Trump outlined five priorities: research into diseases that 'uniquely' affect women; applying superintelligence to understanding women's health and developing new treatments; accelerating the translation of discoveries from laboratories to patients; ensuring access regardless of financial status; and attention to previously neglected issues.