🌄 Imagine... Getting Further, Faster for Island Equity 🌄
💡 Imagined Endstate:
A future where U.S. territories like the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) receive equitable funding, culturally grounded health services, and tailored technical support—ensuring no island community is left behind in the journey toward health equity.
📚 Source:
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). (2025, April). Getting Further Faster Webinar: CNMI Capitol Hill Needs. Link.
💥 What’s the Big Deal:
This episode of ASTHO’s "Public Health Review" podcast zeroes in on a persistent issue: U.S. territories like CNMI face unique challenges in accessing health funding, infrastructure, and federal recognition—despite bearing an outsized burden of health disparities🏥.
Dr. Esther Muna, CEO of the CNMI Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, outlines the Capitol Hill area’s urgent needs—including aging infrastructure, limited Medicaid resources, and workforce shortages that compromise care delivery💉. She emphasizes that “equity” cannot be just a continental conversation—it must reach across the Pacific 🌊.
The webinar underscores that federal systems often unintentionally exclude territories from full program eligibility. For CNMI, this means losing out on crucial grant funds, emergency preparedness resources, and infrastructure investments that could close generational gaps in health outcomes🏚️.
Getting Further Faster means designing public health solutions with island realities in mind: geography, cultural strength, and climate vulnerability 🌴. The future of equity includes CNMI, and this conversation moves us one step closer to ensuring that inclusion is more than a promise—it's policy.
#IslandEquity, #CNMI, #PacificHealth, #SocialJustice, #USTerritories,#PI_SIDS,#Medicare, #IMSPARK, #ASTHO,
