Blueprint to Close the Women%E2%80%99s Health Gap 2025

2.2.1 Among the selected conditions, funding does not match disease burden What – and who – is studied and how investments are made illuminates research priorities and health equity concerns. Women-specific conditions are relatively underfunded. PMS, menopause, maternal haemorrhage, maternal hypertensive disorders, cervical cancer and endometriosis comprise 14% of the total women’s health gap, as measured in DALYs. Collectively, the Forum and MHI analysis found that these conditions received less than 1% of cumulative research funding in 2019–2023 granted to all 64 conditions that drive most of the women’s health gap.91 Comparatively, diabetes makes up 2% of the women’s health gap, and received 12.5% of the research funding granted to all 64 conditions.92 The funding per DALY for diabetes is nearly double the funding per DALY of PMS, menopause, maternal haemorrhage, maternal hypertensive disorders, cervical cancer and endometriosis combined. While investments in diseases and conditions may not always mirror the pain and suffering those diseases and conditions cause, questioning the large gaps between funding and health burden is worthwhile. Funding for conditions is not proportionately allocated relative to the disease burden FIGURE 5 PMS is particularly underfunded. It accounts for 4% of the women’s health gap, equating to 2.1 million DALYs, yet research funding does not match the burden caused by PMS: almost zero dollars of research funding per DALY was allocated to PMS between 2019 and 202393 and only 16 clinical trials for PMS were registered between June 2023 and June 2024. No funding or initiatives related to PMS were reported from 2019 to 2023 in the World RePORT database, and only a handful were related to premenstrual dysphoric disorder from 2019 to 2023.94 Lack of research funding likely correlates with not having a clear understanding of what a “normal” period is, or how common irregular periods are for adolescents. One study measured the hormone levels of a large cohort of women throughout their menstrual cycles and found that not a single participant’s hormone levels matched “textbook” 28-day cycles.95 Another recent study examined variabilities in the menstrual cycle in demographic groups, age cohorts and based on BMI, with those who were Asian or Hispanic, older or having obesity experiencing more cycle variability.96,97 Breast cancer receives the most funding of the selected conditions: cumulative global research funding for breast cancer is $393 per DALY. Sour ce: The Forum and MHI analysis, based on the W orld RePOR T database and Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Data r etrieved June 2024 fr om W orld RePOR T databaseWomen affected dispr oportionately Specific to women Limited disadvantage to women Note: 1. Funding is captur ed in the W orld RePOR T database, which covers all r esear ch funding, from early-stage R&D to car e delivery and implementation. 2. Quartiles based on analysis of funding for 64 conditions, which account for 86% of the W omen’ s Health gap. 3. Bur den is adjusted by McKinsey analyses to account for higher pr evalence of endometriosis and menopause based on WHO estimates and population studies. 0.9 Premenstrual syndromeMigraine Post-partum haemhorrageIschaemic heart diseaseCervical cancerMenopause3Endometriosis3Maternal hypertensive disordersBreast cancer Diabetes23.2 25.1 59.8129.5 178.4 180.2216.1393.41,155.2 Top quartile2Funding per DALY ($/DALY)1 Cumulative funding from 2019 to 2023 granted to 64 conditions that contribute to most of the women’s health gap represented in the quartiles, with select conditions represented = $663 = $212 = $36Median Bottom quartile Blueprint to Close the Women’s Health Gap: How to Improve Lives and Economies for All 19