Native Hawaiian Health Promoted Through $2 Million Grant

US Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, announced on Wednesday that the University of Hawai‘i will receive $2,104,808 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to implement a Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity and to support cancer prevention research. Senator Schatz led efforts to establish and fund a Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity at the HHS Office of Minority Health in the December 2020 spending bill.

“This new funding will help UH partner with HHS on its new Indigenous health center, giving researchers and policymakers more resources to better understand and directly address the health disparities the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities face,” said Senator Schatz.

The Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity will lead efforts, including research, education, service, and policy development related to addressing health disparities and advancing health equity in Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations. An additional award will focus on American Indian and Alaska Native populations. 

The $2,104,808 in funding includes:

·         $999,994 for the University of Hawai‘i system to implement the Center for Indigenous Innovation and Health Equity

·         $1,104,814 for the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa to perform cancer cause and prevention research related to the gut microbiome