Jill Biden Announces $500 Million Government Plan Focused on Women’s Health at Clinton Global Initiative
First Lady Jill Biden on Monday announced a series of new actions aimed at addressing health inequities that women in the United States face, the plans include spending at least $500 million a year on women’s health research.
Jill Biden made the announcement at this year’s event. Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York, just before the organization honored President Joe Biden with the 2024 Clinton Global Citizen Award.
“He provided a playbook for getting things done,” former President Bill Clinton said in presenting the award. “We honor him today, not just for what he accomplished, but for how he did it.”
President Biden, standing next to his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton, joked: “This is what it’s like to be stuck.”
In his brief remarks, he called Jill Biden’s announcement one of the most important of his tenure.
The additional government spending will come largely from the Department of Defense, which provides health care to more than 230,000 active-duty and nearly 2 million retired military women and their family members. The research will focus on why these women are twice as likely to suffer from endocrine, hematologic and other immune-related disorders as men.
“Women are really hungry for information like this,” Jill Biden said. “We don’t have the answers.”
Another change will take effect next week, with the new policy covering women’s health at every step of research funded by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, which awarded 751 grants last year to study Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, orthopedic and musculoskeletal injuries, and various cancers.
The pledge is among more than 100 expected at the two-day gathering of political, business and philanthropic leaders to tackle some of the world’s most pressing problems. The Clintons have set this year’s theme as “What’s Working,” a way to look for potential solutions and effective programs in turbulent times.
“You don’t look at a problem and say, ‘That’s impossible,'” Bill Clinton said in his opening remarks. “You don’t just throw up your hands. You roll up your sleeves.”
An example of that strategy comes from the announcement that a broad group of 15 nonprofits, humanitarian aid organizations and other funders will be working together to address humanitarian crisis in sudan after more than a year of conflict.
The Mutual Aid Coalition for Sudan – which includes the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Giving, the Global Fund for Women and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee – will donate at least $2 million to mutual aid groups in the country by the end of the year. The coalition has also pledged to donate an additional $4.5 million to these groups over the next two years.
Patricia McIlreavy, president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, which represents the coalition, said that while more aid is needed, the group’s collaboration and problem-solving is an important step forward.
“It gets us started,” McIlreavy told The Associated Press. “And it models the behavior you want to see in others. If you wait until the perfect opportunity comes along, you miss out on a lot of good opportunities.”
World Food Programme Director Cindy McCain said earlier this month that “ Sudan’s Almost Forgotten Crisis ” and 25 million people there are already facing acute hunger. Last week, the United Nations’ top humanitarian official said The war is escalating in the conflict that began in April 2023 when long-simmering tensions between Sudan’s military and paramilitary leaders erupted in the capital Khartoum and spread to other areas. The United Nations says more than 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured.
“Given the continuing obstacles to a large-scale international aid response, Sudanese community groups have become key frontline responders and are now the most effective means of reaching millions of people on the brink of famine,” Patricia McIlreavy, president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, said in a prepared statement on behalf of the coalition. “With so many lives at stake, the urgent need to support local aid efforts in Sudan has never been more urgent.”
More than 12 million people have been displaced in Sudan, creating the world’s largest famine and displacement crisis, according to the Center for Disaster Relief. The dangers of the conflict have prevented most international aid agencies from delivering aid to those in need.
Greg Milne, CEO of the Clinton Global Initiative, which convened a panel in April to raise awareness and support for the Sudanese people, said the new coalition is an example of what organizations from many different sectors can do.
“We know that strong and diverse partnerships can help address often overlooked and even serious challenges, and develop innovative and unexpected solutions,” he said.
Philanthropic leaders, including Bill Gates, World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres, Open Society Foundation President Binaifer Nowrojee and Rockefeller Foundation President Raj Shah will share information about their work in CGI, as well as Prince Harrywho will discuss the launch of the Archewell Foundation’s Parents Network, which supports parents of children who have been harmed online. During his appearance on Tuesday, the Duke of Sussex will also mention his work with the World Health Organization and others to reduce violence against children, an issue he and his wife Meghan have raised in a recent trip to Colombia.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani Sadriu and Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics will speak at the conference, as will executives from Pfizer Company, MasterCardIKEA, Pinterest, Sanofi And Chobani.
