International PerimenopauseAlliance

Investing in women across the whole lifespan

NIH spent $59 million on menopause in FY2024, under a tenth of pregnancy research

NIH RCDC categories; categories overlap and are not additive. Women's Health Research overall: $3,073M.

NIH funding, FY2024, US$ millions
Pregnancy644
Maternal health621
Preterm birth, low birth weight, newborn433
Maternal morbidity and mortality382
Embryonic and fetal periods268
Infertility221
Menopause (category since FY2023)59
PMOS (formerly PCOS)9

Source: NIH RCDC, FY2024, as reproduced by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.Reference 15

Women's health research has historically been organized around reproduction, and much of what is counted as women's health has measured outcomes for the pregnancy, the fetus and the newborn. These priorities are essential and must continue. The transitions that shape the rest of a woman's life, and her leading cause of death, deserve investment on the same scale.

Women's health received 8.8% of NIH grant spending from 2013 to 2023, and its share declined over that decade. NIH began tracking menopause as a funding category only in 2023, and perimenopause is still not tracked. Globally, menopause is among the female-specific conditions that each receive under 1% of research funding, although it affects more than 450 million women at any time.

Reference 14 · Reference 16

8.8%

of NIH grant spending went to women's health, 2013 to 2023

2023

the year NIH began tracking menopause as a funding category; perimenopause is still not tracked

<1%

of research funding for each of the female-specific conditions, menopause among them

450M+

women affected by menopause at any time

Portrait of a woman with short silver hair in an ivory knit against a vivid orange backdrop.

Women are half of the world's population, and every woman who lives to midlife passes through this transition. Health across the full lifespan is a matter of equity and of the right to health.