The 77th PIHOA Executive Board Meeting Recap, Part 3: Advancing Pacific Health Through Partnership Engagement and Collaboration

Majuro, RMI - A central theme of the recent 77^th PIHOA Executive Board Meeting (EBM) held in Majuro earlier this month, was the continued critical importance of strengthening partnership engagements and collaborations to advance health priorities and improve health systems and outcomes across U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) member jurisdictions. 

During the open sessions on Day 4, PIHOA health leadership welcomed a diverse group of Pacific regional, academic, and nonprofit partners who shared program updates, emerging health trends in the current political landscape, and opportunities for long-term strategies to continue efforts to enhance health system resilience and health security. Their participation underscored a collective commitment to engage with and seek input from PIHOA health leadership to steer priority health initiatives, strengthen collaborations, and share resources. The PIHOA health leadership continued to affirm the essential role of partnerships in building a healthier future for Pacific communities.


The Strategic Planning Retreat opened with reflections on PIHOA’s four decades of regional advocacy, leadership and partnership engagements, regional policymaking, mission impact, and growth. The PIHOA leadership discussed the organization’s long-standing role as an effective unifying body for health advocacy and leadership for and by the Pacific, how it has evolved and expanded over the years, and what challenges and responsibilities PIHOA Board members and Secretariat carry as stewards of the organization. Open and honest discussions were held about membership and Secretariat accountabilities, regional ownership, and how PIHOA leadership can continue to lay the foundation for and lead a strong and impactful Pacific organization dedicated to serving and protecting the health and well-being of Pacific communities.

The day began with a spotlight on the USAPI health workforce. The de Beaumont Foundation presented the results of the USAPI Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PHWINS), offering an in-depth look at workforce professional development needs, and recruitment and retention challenges across the region. The PHWINS data-driven insights set the stage for dialogue on potential efforts to further strengthen the public health workforce pipeline and support long-term workforce stability.

PIHOA’s Pacific Public Health Fellowship Program (PPHFP) followed with a presentation on independent evaluation findings that highlighted the program’s growing and successful impact on developing early-career public health professionals in the USAPIs. Additional updates on the upcoming USAPI Health Workforce Development Technical Working Group Inaugural meeting reinforced the importance of critically re-thinking workforce development efforts in the region, and to reinforce and scale up interventions for coordinated trainings, mentorship, and innovative recruitment and retention strategies.  



The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) offered perspectives on strategic planning for USAPI support in 2026. Their presentation emphasized ASTHO’s continued commitment to advocating for the region’s unique needs at the federal level and strengthening cross-jurisdictional learning between states and Pacific Island territories. ASTHO recognized PIHOA’s critical partnership to ensure the success of these efforts.

The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) highlighted shifting U.S. national priorities and funding landscapes, outlining opportunities and challenges related to chronic disease program support in the Pacific. Their analysis provided a clearer understanding of how policy and funding changes might impact NCD programming and partnerships across the USAPIs, and encouraged PIHOA health leadership to consider these changes to ensure NCD efforts continue to evolve and scale up effectively.

Academic partners also played an important role in the day’s discussions. The University of Hawai‘i’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), in partnership with the Yap State Department of Health Services (DHS) and the Cancer Council of the Pacific Islands (CCPI), shared progress on primary HPV screening and cervical cancer elimination efforts, including lessons from screening and elimination efforts ongoing in Yap and Guam. Their work demonstrated how research, evidence-based innovation, effective community engagement, and jurisdictional collaboration can drive progress in addressing cancer disparities across Pacific communities. It was exciting to see that Yap is on track to achieve cervical cancer elimination by 2030! 



The Global Scientific Solutions for Health (GSSH) shared their environmental scan results for the USAPI Lab Information System and Lab Data Exchange (LIS/LDX) region and jurisdiction landscape. Utilizing the environmental scan results and working in consultation with the Association of USAPI Laboratorians (AUL), GSSH also presented a draft Regional Strategic Priority Action Framework aimed at improving LIS/LDX coordination across the region. Their work underscored the critical role of well-designed and context-appropriate LIS in supporting disease surveillance, outbreaks, and health system decision-making.

Throughout the day, a consistent message emerged: strong partnerships are essential to building resilient health systems across the Pacific. Whether through workforce development, laboratory strengthening, chronic disease prevention, data systems improvement, or academic collaboration, each partner brought a unique perspective on how collective action can accelerate progress and amplify impact and when guided by the local and regional health leadership.

PIHOA’s continued engagement with academia, local/national/regional nonprofit organizations, and Pacific regional/international partners remains a cornerstone of the organization’s values and mission. These relationships not only extend PIHOA’s reach but also ensure that jurisdictions across the USAPIs have continued access to expertise, resources, and coordinated support pertinent to their respective needs and priorities. As PIHOA moves into its next 40 years, the depth and strength of these partnerships will continue to play an essential role in shaping the future of health across the Pacific.

This work is fully supported by funds made available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through PIHOA’s Partnership Cooperative Agreement OT21-2101: Strengthening the Public Health Systems in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.