Asia Fitness Today is pleased to share this update from Hawai’i. Childhood lead exposure can have lifelong impacts on health, learning, and development, yet it is preventable. Strengthening early detection and prevention efforts is critical to protecting children across the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPIs). The Pacific Island Health Officers’ Association (PIHOA), in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), convened representatives from across the USAPI region for the Regional Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention (CLPP) Engagement Meeting, held April 8–10, 2026, in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.
The three-day meeting brought together environmental health, maternal and child health, and laboratory leaders from American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, including Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and Guam. Participants were joined by partners from CDC, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, and Meridian Bioscience. Designed as a highly interactive and practice-oriented engagement, the meeting focused on strengthening regional collaboration and supporting jurisdictions in advancing CLPP programs. Participants shared experiences, discussed common lead hazards and challenges, and identified practical approaches to reduce lead exposure and improve child health outcomes across the region.
Participants also engaged in hands-on demonstrations and small group activities, including blood lead testing led by Meridian Bioscience, environmental assessment practices with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, household visit strategies, and community education and mobilization around CLPP. The meeting also featured a session with Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaiʻi and a tour of its Mana Mama mobile clinic, which demonstrated how blood lead screening and education can be integrated into maternal and child health outreach services.
Building on ongoing regional CLPP efforts, jurisdictions worked collaboratively to develop priority action plans for the next six to nine months. These plans focus on expanding blood lead testing, strengthening community education, and integrating CLPP education and activities into existing health and outreach platforms. PIHOA extends its sincere appreciation to all participants for their active engagement in the meeting and their flexibility in navigating travel disruptions and challenges due to Super Typhoon Sinlaku. PIHOA also gratefully acknowledges the continued partnership, expertise, and investment of CDC and regional partners, including USAPI Departments and Ministries of Health, in advancing childhood lead poisoning prevention efforts across the USAPI region.
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.
About the Pacific Islands Health Officers’ Association
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. PIHOA has two offices in Honolulu, Hawai’i, and Hagåtña, Guam.
