From October 18th-19th, 2023, SAAPRI’s Executive Director Shobhana Verma attended the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) VOICES 2023 Conference in Washington, D.C. VOICES is an annual conference that gathers healthcare leaders, key stakeholders, and advocates to explore and discuss health equity and health justice in eliminating disparities and supporting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
Shobhana was a part of the “AA and NH/PI Mental Health, Wellness, and Resiliency During COVID-19 and Beyond” panel that helped bring diverse perspectives on health equity and social determinants of health. She joined community health advocates from across the country working to improve access to healthcare services and shared about SAAPRI’s efforts to highlight complex healthcare needs of the South Asian American communities via disaggregated data-driven research and education.
Shobhana also listened to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra address health disparities, anti-Asian discrimination, and hate crimes & targeted language access interventions for the diverse AANHPI communities followed by Curtis Chin’s interview about his new memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.” She also had the opportunity to meet Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) to discuss the AANHPI education bill reintroduced by Senator Hirono (Illinois is the first state in the country to require a unit of Asian American history be taught in public schools via the TEAACH (Act)) and the need to facilitate expedited review and reporting of anti-Asian hate crimes.