PIHOA has two offices in Honolulu, Hawai’i, and Hagåtña, Guam.
PIHOA is a non-profit public health organization that is led by the Ministers, Secretaries, and Directors of Health of the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands - American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Palau and the Marshall Islands. PIHOA's mission is to improve the health and well-being of the USAPIs by providing, through consensus, a unified, credible voice on health issues of regional significance. Established in 1986, PIHOA is governed by and represents the collective interests of the USAPI health leadership from American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. PIHOA’s Secretariat, comprised of executive, administrative, and technical staff and consultants, provides support to the USAPI health agencies and leadership in the following priority areas: health workforce development; epidemiology and surveillance; health systems performance improvement; laboratory services; regional health leadership and policy advocacy; Pacific health security; and, partnership engagement and coordination.
01/30/2026
Faʻafetai tele lava to the American Samoa Department of Health, de Beaumont Foundation, and ASTHO (Association of State and Territorial Health Officials) for inviting PIHOA to participate in last week’s Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) dissemination. Participants discussed public health workforce data and identified key priority areas to support workforce planning. 🩺🇦🇸
📍 More to come from Chuuk and Yap next week
01/29/2026
✨ The Pacific Public Health Fellowship Program (PPHFP) has launched its official newsletter, highlighting fellowship activities, participant stories, and regional public health workforce development efforts across the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands 🌊🌴
This edition highlights the accomplishments of PIHOA's PPHFP Cohort 4, who over the past two years, has strengthened USAPI public health capacity, and successfully transitioned into local roles within USAPI Ministries and Departments of Health. We invite you to help celebrate the PPHFP contributions and milestones of our Cohort 4 Fellow Graduates 🎉
🗞️ Read the first issue below: PPHFP Newsletter – 2025 Graduation Highlights (Cohort 4), January 2026
📣 Held in November 2025, the 77th PIHOA Executive Board Meeting Recap – Part 5 highlights a meaningful journey to Ine Village in Arno Atoll during the final day of the meeting.
Board members, Secretariat staff, and regional partners joined the Ine community to celebrate the blessing and reopening of the newly renovated Ine Health Dispensary, marking an important milestone in improving healthcare access for outer-island residents in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
This visit served as a powerful reminder of the community partnerships, cultural leadership, and healthcare workforce dedication that sustain public health efforts across the region.
Email from Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA) For Immediate Release January 28, 2026 The 77th PIHOA Executive Board Meeting Recap, Part 5: A Journey to Ine Village in Arno Atoll Arno,
01/27/2026
📣 77th PIHOA Executive Board Meeting Recap – Part 4
In case you missed it: We’re continuing our 77th PIHOA Executive Board Meeting recap series from November 2025.
Day 4 of the 77th PIHOA Executive Board Meeting highlighted powerful presentations from the RMI Ministry of Health and Human services, showcasing key achievements in public health infrastructure, workforce strengthening, early childhood development, and nuclear justice.
From expanding telehealth services across remote outer islands through solar-powered connectivity, to integrating early childhood development services into rural health programs, RMI continues to demonstrate innovative, context-appropriate approaches to strengthening resilient health systems.
The session concluded with a deeply moving presentation from the National Nuclear Commission, Republic of the Marshall Islands, grounding the meeting in the lived experiences of Marshallese communities and reinforcing the importance of regional advocacy and collective action, especially following the adoption of WHA78.28 on the Effects of Nuclear War on Public Health.
Email from Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA) For Immediate Release January 27, 2026 The 77th PIHOA Executive Board Meeting Recap, Part 4: The Marshall Islands Highlights Critical Ach
01/26/2026
🌏 Join Us for the Next Meet the Expert Webinar
☢️ Topic: The Nuclear Legacy
Open to All!
Learn about the nuclear legacy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and how it continues to impact human and community health, past, present, and future. This is more than the history of one island; it is a shared Pacific reality and a collective responsibility for our region.
📅 Date:
January 30, 2026 | 10:00–11:00 AM (CHST)
January 29, 2026 | 2:00–3:00 PM (HST)
(See time zone conversions below)
🎤 Featuring:
Ariana Tibon-Kilma
Chairperson, RMI National Nuclear Commission
🕒 Time Zones:
🇬🇺 Guam / 🇫🇲 Chuuk / 🇫🇲 Yap – 10:00 AM
🇵🇼 Palau – 9:00 AM
🇫🇲 Pohnpei / 🇫🇲 Kosrae – 11:00 AM
🇲🇭 Republic of the Marshall Islands – 12:00 PM
🇦🇸 American Samoa – January 30, 1:00 PM
01/13/2026
🦟 From November 10–12, 2025, the PIHOA Secretariat conducted a Dengue Outbreak Readiness Workshop in Majuro, in close coordination with the RMI Ministry of Health and Human services.
The three-day workshop strengthened RMI’s preparedness to detect, respond to, and prevent dengue outbreaksthrough the development of a country-specific Early Warning System (EWS), updated Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and enhanced operational response planning.
📍 Key highlights include:
-Hands-on training for 16 frontline health workers, all from the outer islands
-Establishment of epidemiological and entomological alert thresholds
-Review and update of 17 SOPs to strengthen surveillance, vector control, risk communication, and community engagement
-Strengthened coordination across sectors to support early action and rapid response
By building capacity at both national and community levels, this workshop helps ensure that outer-island communities are better equipped to respond before outbreaks escalate.
Email from Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA) For Immediate Release January 13, 2026 RMI Prepares for a Dengue Outbreak Before it Strikes Majuro, RMI - On request and in coordination
01/10/2026
👩🏽⚕️👨🏾⚕️ Public health professionals, clinicians, and partners from across the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands gathered in Honolulu on October 8–10, 2025, for the USAPI Maternal Health Summit—a first-of-its-kind regional convening focused on strengthening Maternal Mortality Review Committees and advancing maternal health surveillance across jurisdictions.
🤝🏾 Thank you to all of our partners and jurisdictions who participated and supported this important work.
Email from Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA) For Immediate Release January 9, 2026 USAPI Maternal Health Summit Unites Pacific Delegates to Strengthen Local Maternal Mortality Review
12/19/2025
🎄✨ From the PIHOA health leadership and Secretariat, wishing everyone a very merry and blessed Holiday Season, a time for family, rest, healing, rejuvenation, companionship, and fellowship. Our prayers are with you in this time of joy and for a successful and bountiful New Year. Thank you for your commitment, compassion, and all that you do to improve the health and well-being of our island communities.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 🎁🎆
🎅🏽 Holiday Office Closure: PIHOA’s Honolulu and Guam offices will be closed from December 22, 2025–January 2, 2026. We look forward to reconnecting when normal operations resume on Monday, January 5, 2026.
12/18/2025
From December 10-12, 2025, 30 USAPI health workforce development professionals and 20 regional partners convened in Guam to launch the USAPI Regional Health Workforce Development Technical Working Group (TWG).
The meeting opened with an inspiring keynote from Theresa Arriola, Director of the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services and Interim PIHOA Board President, encouraging participants to dream big, persevere, and build the political will needed to address long-standing health workforce shortages.
Over three days, jurisdictions shared successes, challenges, and opportunities, while collaboratively shaping the TWG’s membership, purpose, and initial work streams.
Next steps:
-Convening jurisdiction-specific workforce development TWGs
-Advancing jurisdictional and defining regional priorities
-Providing updates to the PIHOA Board in Honolulu this April
Together, we’re strengthening the foundation of the USAPI health workforce—now and for the future. 💪🏽🌺
12/10/2025
⭐️ Join Us for the Next Meet the Expert Session!
🎁 Topic: Navigating Holiday Stress
The holiday season can be both uplifting and overwhelming, making emotional well-being an important focus for individuals, families, and communities across the Pacific. Together, we’ll explore simple approaches to create more balance and ease during this busy time of year.
📅 Date:
December 12, 2025 | 10am – 11am (CHST)
December 11, 2025 | 2pm – 3pm (HST)
(see time zone conversions below)
🕒 Time Zones:
🇬🇺 Guam / 🇫🇲 Chuuk / 🇫🇲 Yap – 10AM
🇵🇼 Palau – 9AM
🇫🇲 Pohnpei / 🇫🇲 Kosrae – 11AM
🇲🇭 Republic of the Marshall Islands – 12PM
🇦🇸 American Samoa – December 12, 1PM
12/02/2025
📢 New research published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention highlights a promising advance for cancer screening in Pacific communities. The pilot study from American Samoa Community Cancer Coalition used an AI/ML model to identify individuals at high risk for colorectal cancer in American Samoa — a step that could help improve early detection in resource-limited and culturally diverse populations.
This research underscores why increasing access to culturally responsive screening and follow-up care matters now more than ever. ✨
🔗 Read the full article here:
Objective: This pilot study aimed to assess the feasibility of using an artificial Intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) model to predict colorectal cancer (CRC) risk in American Samoa, where resource limitations and cultural barriers significantly hinder screening efforts. Methods: The AI/ML mo...
12/01/2025
In response to the rising dengue outbreak, the American Samoa Department of Health, with technical support from PIHOA and partners, has rapidly expanded Targeted Residual Spraying (TRS)operations — a highly effective intervention designed to suppress Aedes mosquitoes and disrupt ongoing transmission. 🚫🦟
TRS creates a long-lasting protective barrier on surfaces where mosquitoes rest, providing communities with extended protection far beyond traditional fogging methods.
✨ Highlights include:
🛡️ Long-lasting surface protection (up to 6 months)
🎯 Targeting indoor & shaded mosquito resting sites
📉 Reducing mosquito lifespan and dengue transmission potential
⚖️ Minimizing unnecessary chemical use through focused spraying
👥 Capacity-building for DOH Environmental Health teams on safe application, monitoring & QA/QC
📦 Supporting DOH with dengue test kits, PPE, repellents, and response supplies
American Samoa’s unique housing structures and mosquito behaviors make TRS a critical tool in interrupting transmission and protecting high-risk households, schools, workplaces, clinics, and community spaces.
Fa'afetai lava to all partners supporting this urgent public health response and helping strengthen community protection across the territory. 💪🏾🌺
🤝🏾 American Samoa Department of Health, ASDOH Environmental Health Services Division
Email from Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA) For Immediate Release December 1, 2025 American Samoa's Successful Dengue Outbreak Response Utilizing Advanced Targeted Residual Spraying
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The Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA) is a non-profit organization that is led by and represents the collective interests of the Ministers, Secretaries, and Directors of Health of the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPIs).
The USAPI include the three U.S. Flag Territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, and the three Freely Associated States (independent nations in a special compact relationship with the United States) of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia (Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk, and Yap).
PIHOA's mission is to improve the health and well being of the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Island (USAPI) communities by providing, through consensus, a unified credible voice on health issues of regional significance.
PIHOA continues to dedicate itself to improving health status in the USAPIs through critical regional health policy dialogue, advocacy with U.S., regional and international donors and technical agencies, and provision of direct technical assistance.
