DEBATE: A historic boost for women’s health – now we must lift together

By the Deans of Health Anne-Mette Hvas (Aarhus University), Bente Merete Stallknecht (University of Copenhagen), Ole Skjøtt (University of Southern Denmark) and Karina Dahl Steffensen (Aalborg University)

One could paraphrase a famous quote when the Minister for Higher Education and Science, Christina Egelund, presented the Research Reserve 2026 in front of the Landsting Hall at Christiansborg:

That's one small step in policy, one giant leap for women's health.

For the first time, a nine-figure sum has been allocated specifically to research in women’s health, and this is a long-awaited step that we at the faculties of health sciences wholeheartedly welcome.

Now we must lift together. If we are to fulfill the ambitions set out in the Agreement on Research and Innovation 2026–2029, we must gather the country’s strongest expertise to enhance our knowledge and research on women’s health.

We need to learn more about the healthy female body, about diseases that primarily affect women, and about diseases that behave differently in women than in men. This involves, for example, menstruation, infertility, PCOS, endometriosis, pregnancy, menopause, cardiovascular disease, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease. The list is far from exhaustive. It is long—and unfortunately, our knowledge and treatment options are not yet sufficient.

This is why it is crucial that 160 million DKK has been earmarked in the research reserve to improve women’s well-being and health conditions together. We must think carefully to ensure that we get the greatest possible benefit from this opportunity over the coming years—and ideally far into the future. We must design a center and an initiative for women’s health that will last well beyond the four years covered in the Finance Act.

Universities must work together with society

At the universities, we have no doubt that we can deliver research that will make a real difference for women’s health. What we have been lacking is the opportunity for a unified and coordinated effort across disciplines and institutions. Now we have that opportunity.

But we cannot and must not do this work at universities alone. We must collaborate across sectors: in the regions, hospitals, general practice, and with other strong knowledge organizations. We must anchor the center’s efforts in areas where we already hold strong expertise, and also identify new areas where competence building and networking are needed.

Only in this way can we truly understand both disease and health—and the social and structural conditions that shape women’s opportunities to achieve and maintain good health throughout life.

And it does not end there. We must think internationally and engage foundations, policymakers, and global research environments. Denmark has unique strengths: national health data, biobanks, supercomputers, leading researchers, and close ties to life science and innovation ecosystems. This gives us an extraordinary opportunity to create solutions that reach far beyond our borders.

Let us lift together

Women should spend fewer years of their lives in poor health. Today, women live on average 25% more of their lives with illness than men. We must change this by closing the knowledge gaps that create inequality.

Our message is clear: We are ready to take on the task. Now we must ensure that the initiative is organized to benefit women’s health as much as possible. We must work together, and we must think across boundaries. And together, we must establish a center that creates real and lasting change—far beyond the four years funded in the research reserve.

(This text has been translated with artificial intelligence)

This opinion piece is published in Sundhedsmonitor 27 November 2027