News

WHAMglobal Sets a Strategic Course for 2026

Type: News

Focus Area: Women’s Health

Women’s Health Activist Movement (WHAMglobal) convened leaders from across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Switzerland, and beyond virtually on December 9 to reflect on a year of collaborative work and the sharpening of priorities for 2026. The virtual meeting highlighted how differently countries prepare for aging and how uniquely vulnerable women in the U.S. remain.

The discussion built on work launched at WHAMglobal’s 2024 Salzburg convening, where members identified two focus areas: the social determinants of health and key clinical issues affecting women as they age. This month's meeting served as a moment to assess progress, learn from global partners, and determine how WHAMglobal’s network can be most impactful moving forward.

Christine Bishop, PhD, Atran Foundation Professor of Economics at Brandeis University, opened the meeting with data on long-term services and supports in the United States. Unlike many other high-income countries, she noted, the U.S. relies heavily on individuals and families to shoulder the costs of aging. This responsibility often comes with little preparation and limited public support.

Women face disproportionate risk due to longer life expectancy, higher likelihood of disability, and lower lifetime earnings and savings. Dr. Bishop emphasized that most Americans dramatically underestimate both the cost of aging and the limited role public programs play in covering it.

International participants contrast these realities with systems in their own countries, where long-term care and caregiving supports are more fully integrated into public policy. Their perspectives reinforced WHAMglobal’s global goal of identifying promising approaches across borders and applying those lessons in the U.S., where women face heightened financial vulnerability later in life.

Scott Bane, JD, MPA, Program Officer at The John A. Hartford Foundation, expanded the conversation to caregiving. He shared data showing that 61% of caregivers are women, many of whom are aging themselves. While caregiving is a universal experience, Bane noted, it is far less supported in the U.S. than in many other countries, which often leaves families to navigate care with little financial, workplace, or health system backing.

The second half of the meeting focused on clinical issues. Fleur Sack, MD, who leads WHAMglobal’s Curriculum & Research Workgroup, described a major milestone: narrowing a broad set of concerns to three priority areas with outsized impact on women’s healthy aging, including menopause, bone health, and cardiovascular disease. This focused approach is designed to address missed opportunities in clinical education and care.

Diana Skeete, MIRPM, a London-based NHS non-executive director and founder of MenoAssess, helped moderate the discussion, underscoring the value of global perspectives in understanding how women’s health is taught and treated across systems.

Claire Gill, founder of the National Menopause Foundation and CEO of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation, discussed linking menopause and bone health, two conditions often addressed separately despite their close clinical relationship. She highlighted persistent gaps in clinician education, noting that many physicians, nurses, and pharmacists complete their training with little or no formal instruction on either topic.

The meeting concluded with a forward-looking discussion focused on translating a year of learning into action. Members identified several priorities for the year ahead, including: Clarifying where WHAMglobal’s network can be most impactful through policy engagement, clinical training, convening, or international alignment; defining meaningful metrics of success that reflect both U.S. and global perspectives; building on new partnerships, particularly around menopause, bone health, cardiovascular care, and family caregiving; and continuing to integrate international insights into WHAMglobal’s U.S. strategy.

WHAMglobal staff will now work with subgroup leads to translate these priorities into specific goals and measures for 2026.

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