Ninez Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, joined leaders from the government, health, business and other sectors at a White House forum on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders hosted by the White House on May 3.
“I am grateful to the Biden-Harris administration and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders for the investments they’re making to advance equity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities,” Ponce said. “The White House Forum is not only a celebration of AANHPI Heritage Month — it is a call to action to work together to advance equity.”
Ponce, the Fred W. and Pamela K. Wasserman Professor of Health Policy and Management, was on the panel for the “Advancing Justice Through Data Equity” breakout convening. She discussed the research she is leading to ensure that Pacific Islander data is included in state surveys and how these efforts can be scaled up by the federal government.
“Data equity is an essential element of achieving health equity — and a lack of disaggregated data has left Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities overlooked,” she said. “The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and our California Health Interview Survey, National Network of Health Surveys, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Data Policy Lab have worked hard to provide and advocate for reliable data on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.”
The panel also included Gregg Orton, national director of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans; Fontane Lo, deputy director of AAPI Data; Kham Moua, national deputy director of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center; and Neil Ruiz, head of Pew Research Initiatives at the Pew Research Center.
