Trump cancels NIH grants on equity research
Source: Roll Call
Posted March 24, 2025 at 6:18pm
The Trump administration is canceling dozens of National Institutes of Health grants funding health equity research, including work studying Black maternal and fetal health and HIV. Grantees were told in termination notices delivered over the last several days that their project “no longer effectuates agency priorities” and that “so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) studies are often used to support unlawful discrimination on the basis of race.”
Advancing health equity was a priority of the Biden administration, creating a tacit acknowledgment that people of color often have worse health outcomes than white people because of racism, increased barriers to accessing health care and other factors. That fact has been widely been adopted by researchers, health organizations, providers and the medical establishment.
But the Trump administration appears to reject that health disparities exist and that research based on “amorphous equity objectives” are “antithetical to the scientific inquiry, do nothing to expand our knowledge of living systems, provide low returns on investment, and ultimately do not enhance health, lengthen life, or reduce illness,” according to the termination letters.
Health and Human Services Department spokesman Andrew Nixon defended the cuts — which were listed on the department’s website — saying “HHS is taking action to terminate research funding that is not aligned with NIH and HHS priorities.”
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2025/03/24/trump-cancels-nih-grants-on-equity-research/
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