Strengthening the Public Health System in the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands

CDC’s Center for State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Support (CSTLTS) has awarded a five-year cooperative agreement to the Pacific Island Health Officers’ Association. The cooperative agreement [PDF – 306 KB] aims to provide capacity-building assistance to strengthen the quality, performance, and sustainability of the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) public health system.

The project’s strategies and activities come from national recommendations for capacity building assistance. They are based on CSTLTS’s priorities, program experience, and evidence-based recommendations from federal councils and national public health organizations, such as the US Department of Health and Human Services, Healthy People 2020, the Institute of Medicine, the National Prevention Strategy, and the World Health Organization.

Capacity-Building Assistance Strategies

• Build public health leadership knowledge, skills, and competencies
• Strengthen public health systems and infrastructure to support system and agency needs
• Improve competencies and retain workforce
• Support use of public health laws and policies to strengthen responses to current and new challenges
• Implement evidence-based public health practices and services
• Improve public health monitoring and surveillance systems

Project Goal

The project’s goal is to advance quality and performance in the following areas of USAPI’s public health systems:

• Business services
• Workforce
• Data and information systems
• Public health practice and services
• Partnerships
• Laws and policies
• Resources

Funding Period

• Budget Period Length: 12 months (July 1, 2017–June 30, 2018)
• Project Period Length: 5 years (July 1, 2016–June 30, 2021)