Trump orders NIH women’s health division and White House task force

President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing a Women’s Health Division at the NIH and a White House Women’s Health Task Force. HHS is directed to establish the NIH division within 90 days. The task force, led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, was set to hold its first meeting Monday.

The division and task force are intended to coordinate federal efforts and address research gaps in conditions that uniquely or disproportionately affect women. Areas named in the reports include maternal health, infertility, fibroids, menopause, Alzheimer’s disease and heart disease. MedPage Today reported that the order does not set specific funding goals. STAT reported that the new division will work with, and not replace, the NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health.