Trump signs order to boost women's health

Washington, October 20 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing the establishment of a dedicated women's health division within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and a White House task force to accelerate research into diseases affecting women, with Indian-American NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya among the senior officials attending the announcement.The initiative, unveiled at a White House ceremony on Monday alongside First Lady Melania Trump, seeks to expand research into women's health, encourage the use of advanced technologies and improve access to medical treatments.The executive order, "Advancing Women's Health to Improve Outcomes in All Phases of Life", establishes a White House Women's Health Task Force to coordinate efforts across federal agencies.Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the task force, which held its first meeting later Monday.Trump said the initiative would address diseases and medical conditions affecting women that have historically received insufficient research attention."Despite amazing advances in medical science, many diseases and conditions that disproportionately affect women remain chronically understudied," Trump said.He said the new division would promote research into these conditions and encourage the development of technologies for earlier diagnosis and improved treatment."The executive order I'll sign in just a moment will direct the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a new women's health division within the National Institute of Health," Trump said.The President credited Melania Trump with developing the initiative and said the administration would support efforts to improve healthcare for women and girls.The First Lady outlined five priorities for the programme, beginning with directing research funding towards diseases that uniquely affect women.She also called for using advanced artificial intelligence to improve understanding of female biology and accelerate medical discoveries.Her other priorities included speeding the transition of promising therapies from laboratories to patients while maintaining safety standards, making medical advances affordable and encouraging more open discussion of women's health issues."Beginning today, we will change the reality of women's health," Melania Trump said.She described the initiative as an opportunity to use emerging scientific capabilities, including advanced biotechnology and artificial intelligence, to address longstanding gaps in medical research.The First Lady said the programme should serve women throughout their lives, from childhood and motherhood to later years."Start by directing research funding towards finding cures for diseases that affect women in a unique way," she said.She also emphasised that medical advances should be accessible to women regardless of their financial circumstances.Among those attending the ceremony were NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Second Lady Usha Vance, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and senior administration officials.Trump acknowledged Bhattacharya during his remarks and thanked him for his work at the NIH.The President also welcomed Usha Vance, who attended the ceremony with her infant child.White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was recognised during the event, with Trump referring to her recovery from breast cancer.The announcement coincided with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, observed annually in October.The National Institutes of Health is the principal biomedical research agency of the United States, supporting scientific studies into diseases, treatments and public health. Its research programmes include work on conditions affecting women, reproductive health and sex-related differences in disease.