Spain triples women's health research funding to €18 million to close historical gender gap
The Spanish government unveiled the Somos-Contamos program, tripling public investment in women's health R&D to €18 million per year to correct decades of gender bias in biomedical science.
A new national research program
The Spanish government launched the Somos-Contamos initiative on Monday, aiming to triple annual public investment in health research focused on women to €18 million. President Pedro Sánchez announced the program at the Fundación Ortega-Marañón in Madrid, flanked by ministers Mónica García, Diana Morant, and Ana Redondo. The plan targets conditions that disproportionately or exclusively affect women and have long been underfunded in biomedical research.
This will serve to promote research, diagnosis, and treatment in areas that have not received the necessary attention and that condition the lives of thousands of women in our country. We are talking about chronic pain, autoimmune and thyroid diseases, as well as cardiovascular and mental health.
Where the money will go
The additional funding is allocated to areas identified as chronically understudied: chronic pain, autoimmune and thyroid disorders, cardiovascular and mental health, menopause, and hormonal health. The government points to stark examples of the knowledge gap, such as endometriosis, which affects up to 15% of women of reproductive age but takes seven to ten years to diagnose on average.
We are capable of reaching the Moon, of mapping Mars with extraordinary precision. But in these decades we have been unable to rigorously answer fundamental questions about women's health.
Three agencies, three tracks
The program mobilizes three state research bodies. The Center for Technological and Industrial Development (CDTI) will launch a dedicated mission and reserve biotechnology funds for women's health. The Carlos III Health Institute will create a new strategic funding line and a call for collaborative projects across its networked biomedical research centers. The State Research Agency will open a new line of predoctoral contracts tied to research projects on women's health.
Correcting a structural bias
Sánchez argued that clinical trials, drug testing, and diagnostic protocols have historically been designed around male populations, leaving women with delayed diagnoses and less precise treatments. He framed the initiative as part of a broader "feminist mandate," citing Spain's fourth-place ranking in EU gender equality and the lowest gender pay gap in the bloc. The government also highlighted recent laws on reproductive rights, parental leave, and universal access to assisted reproduction as part of this ongoing effort.
