Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 34, Number 11, 1 November 2017 — VOICES 2017 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

VOICES 2017

By Treena Shapiro As racial and ethnic categories, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiian and Paeihe Islanders represent more than 50 distinct groups with varied and diverse health needs. Health equity, however, is a cause we ean all unite around and advocate for together. The VOICES 2017 conference hosted by the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) in September drew participants from 40 states and jurisdictions to Washington, D.C., to deepen connections and identify areas where collaborative, grassroots networks ean be most effective at driving change. Dr. Kealoha Fox, Ka Pou Kāko'o " Nui of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and a featured speaker at event, said

health equity - including continuing healthcare coverage and access to services and prevention programs - is already one of OHA's strategic priorities. OHA isn't alone in its eoneem over threats to the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and the Children's Health

Insurance Program and ean join in APIAHF's advocacy efforts. "We have the data that supports why we wanted to jump onto these issues with unified voices," she said. Participants left the conference with ideas of how to activate their communities.

APIAHF President & CEO Kathy Ko Chin reflected, "There were many memorable takeaways from VOICES 2017. One emphasizes that this is the time to empower and build our communities to achieve health justice for all. Through collaboration, we ean

foster a healthier future for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders." The APIAHF conference looked at ways to expand networks and grow collective power, but it also recognized that federal race and ethnicity categories need to be more equitable. In April, OHA supported revisions to the standards for maintaining, eollecting and presenting federal data on race and ethnicity, advocating that Native Hawaiians are a distinct indigenous people, Fox said, but the results have yet to be posted. Ka Pouhana, Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe confirms, "We must stay focused on the Health Equity Agenda by following developments around key administrative and legislative ~ actions, such as the Health Equity and Accountability Act (HEAA) and Affordable Care Act open enroll-

ment." APIAHF is leading the Health Equity Working Group advising the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, a member of the Congressional Tri-Caucus, on the policies within HEAA.B

The V0ICES 2017 conference, hosted by the Asian & Pacific lslander Amenean Health Forum, emphasized health equity Photo: Courtesy APIAHP