Spain's €18M annual push to close women's health research gaps

The Spanish Government has launched a new national programme to tackle inequalities in women's health research. Named Somos. Contamos: fin de la discriminación de las mujeres en la investigación de la salud, it will allocate around €18 million each year to study diseases that disproportionately or differently affect women. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Science Minister Diana Morant officially presented the initiative on 15 June. The programme targets long-standing gaps in biomedical science. It will focus on endometriosis, autoimmune diseases, hormonal disorders, cardiovascular conditions, and mental health disorders, where women have often been underrepresented in research and clinical trials.

Funding will flow through competitive calls and institutional channels. The Instituto de Salud Carlos III will support biomedical and public health projects, while the Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación (CDTI) will back innovation-focused studies. The money will be distributed annually through these key national bodies.

To build lasting expertise, the programme will create new doctoral and postdoctoral contracts specialising in women’s health. The Government also plans to foster closer collaboration between universities, hospitals, and research centres. This aims to speed up the application of findings in clinical settings. The initiative could bring significant improvements in healthcare for women. It may lead to earlier and more precise diagnoses, tailored treatments, and a better understanding of how diseases progress in female patients. It also seeks to increase women’s participation in clinical trials and medical datasets.