If you’ve ever taken a medication or followed a doctor’s advice, there’s a good chance you’ve quietly benefited from one long-running effort focused on women’s health.

But when a decision nearly ended that work for good, scientists and doctors sounded the alarm.

Now, a reversal has kept the project alive—for now.



The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), one of the largest and longest-running health studies of women in the United States, is continuing its work "uninterrupted" after federal officials confirmed they are restoring funding.

Researchers shared the update after being notified by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that funding for the WHI’s regional centers would continue.

The confirmation follows a wave of concern from the medical and scientific communities, which erupted when the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) initially moved to end contracts for four WHI regional centers in September.



The clinical coordinating center was scheduled to be funded until early 2026—beyond that, its future was unclear.

The HHS later said its internal targets for contract reductions had been exceeded and that it would work to fully restore funding to the program.



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The WHI began in 1993 and has involved more than 160,000 women.

It was created after the NIH Revitalization Act made it a requirement to include women and people of color in federally funded research.

Before that, women were often left out of clinical trials, even for diseases that affect them differently from men.

The WHI has since generated critical findings on breast cancer, hormone therapy, heart disease, osteoporosis, chronic disease, and aging.

Dr. JoAnn Manson, a longtime WHI investigator and Harvard Medical School professor, called the study “the largest and most groundbreaking” of its kind.



She said the work has helped uncover ways to prevent major chronic illnesses, promote healthy aging, and improve quality of life.

She also warned about what could have been lost.

“We've got blood samples, literally hundreds of thousands of blood samples, that have been collected over the years. It isn't clear if those bio-specimens can be fully utilized and used to advance the science that is also threatened."

Researchers expressed concern about the effect on training future scientists, too.

Dr. Manson noted the WHI has involved more than 5,000 investigators and played a key role in mentorship.



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Dr. Marian Neuhouser, another WHI lead investigator, highlighted the value of the database.

She said more than 13,000 of the women in the study are over age 90, and some are more than 100.

“There aren’t many studies that have such a large database of older women,” she said.

She added that the data helps doctors understand what promotes long-term health and independence.

"They want to be studied," she said. "They want to be part of the answer."



The WHI’s findings have influenced both public health and clinical care.

Other research from the WHI has linked conditions like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes to long-term health effects later in life.

The renewed funding gives the WHI room to continue.



But the close call has reminded many that medical research—especially long-term studies focused on women—often hangs in the balance.

Dr. Manson and others say it shouldn’t take public backlash to protect landmark science.

Still, they’re relieved the WHI can press on.

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Have you or someone you know benefited from research breakthroughs in women’s health? Do you think long-term studies like this one should have more permanent protections? Should women’s health research receive more attention and funding overall? What questions do you hope doctors and scientists answer in the future? Let us know your thoughts below.