National Strategy Aims to Close Women’s Health Gap with €27.5 Million Investment
The Netherlands is launching a new national strategy to address long-standing disparities in women’s healthcare, allocating €27.5 million to research and improved care pathways. The National Women’s Health strategy 2025-2030, recently unveiled by the Ministry of Health, signals a shift toward recognizing and addressing the unique health needs of women, which have historically been overlooked or treated as variations of male physiology.
For decades, medical research and treatment protocols have largely focused on male bodies, leaving women underserved and often misdiagnosed. This new initiative aims to rectify that imbalance by prioritizing research into conditions that disproportionately affect women, or manifest differently in women than in men - including cardiovascular disease, migraine, and cycle disorders – and by establishing a national network to improve care standards. The investment comes as advocates emphasize the need for sustained, concrete action, not just rhetoric, to ensure women’s health concerns are taken seriously.
The strategy’s core objective is to structurally improve healthcare for women, with a particular focus on increasing knowledge of female-specific disorders. A meaningful portion – over half - of the €27.5 million will be dedicated to research, while the remainder will support the creation of a national network connecting doctors, researchers, and patient organizations. A public platform offering reliable details about women’s health will also be established.
experts and women’s organizations are cautiously optimistic, viewing the strategy as a positive first step. However, they stress the importance of ongoing, dedicated attention to women’s health, moving beyond simply acknowledging the differences to implementing tailored care. The prevailing sentiment is that treating women as “small men” with added hormones is no longer acceptable; the female body operates distinctly and requires a correspondingly unique approach to medicine.
Investing in women’s health isn’t merely a matter of equity, proponents argue, but a practical necessity. Addressing the healthcare gap promises to reduce pain, improve treatment outcomes, lower overall healthcare costs, and, crucially, empower women by ensuring their health concerns are validated and effectively addressed.
