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Pacific Islanders in Hawaii gravely need unwavering support, decisive action, and sustained commitment from the Hawaii State Legislature and University of Hawaii leadership.

Data from known as Puipuia le Ola (which means protecting life in Samoan), reveals that Pacific Islanders suffer from very low attainment of post-secondary education, hold two or more low-paying jobs, and live in overcrowded multi-generational households.

“The Puipuia le Ola Study” was one of 100 projects across the nation funded by the $500-million Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics for Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) Program, of the National Institutes of Health, which was created to ensure that all Americans, but especially ethnic minority communities and marginalized groups, have full access to Covid-19 testing.

When the Covid pandemic raised its ugly head on our shores, the Pacific Islander community in Hawaii was disproportionately impacted. Despite comprising only 4% of the state’s population, Pacific Islanders initially accounted for more than 25% of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.

“The Puipuia le Ola Study” was focused on increasing the reach and uptake of Covid testing among Pacific Islanders, who were 18 years of age or older, who never tested positive for Covid, and who lived in Hawaii for at least three months.

The field research period spanned from May 2021 to January 2023, and despite enormous challenges in project implementation due to lockdowns prompted by successive surges of Covid, the fieldwork was completed, in large part because we intentionally employed and trained Pacific Islanders as field researchers from various ethnic groups with language proficiency in Samoan, Chuukese, Pohnpeian, Marshallese, Kosraean, and Yapese.

More than 3,000 Pacific Islanders were enrolled in the study, and of this total, 61% and 39% were female and male respectively. The ethnic distribution of study participants reflected that of Pacific Islanders in the state, with Samoans accounting for the majority, followed by Chuukese. That is, our study population comprised 43.9% Samoans, 23.1% Chuukese, 12.4% Pohnpeians, 11.5% Marshallese, 4.9% Tongans, and 4.2% other Pacific Islanders.

The study findings revealed many aspects of Pacific Islander ethnic communities and socio-economic conditions that we as Pacific Islanders already know, except some aspects of their knowledge and understandings about Covid testing and access information. The data also showed that many study participants suffered from pre-existing health inequities and disparities, including underlying health conditions, or comorbidities, such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, which are known to increase the risk of clinically severe Covid.

The pandemic also served as another alarming reminder of how communicable diseases exacerbate health disparities among underserved populations, such as Pacific Islanders in Hawaii.

Income disparity is widespread among Pacific Islander communities due to the lack of high-quality education in high school and beyond. Among Pacific Islander high school graduates who read at the fifth- or eighth-grade level, the chances of earning an annual income of more than $50,000 are very slim, even by working more than two jobs. The chance of buying a two-bedroom apartment in the so-called “affordable housing market” is extremely low.

Opportunities for financial literacy and budget learning are necessities for life yet accessible only through great privilege. Nourishing foods, health lifestyles, and access to quality medical care are too often desired needs across Pacific Islander peoples.

Pacific Islanders have been migrating to Hawaii since the 1940s. Unfortunately, their socio-economic situation remains poor with high rates of poverty, in comparison to Chinese and Japanese Americans, as well as Filipino Americans. Chinese and Japanese Americans moved into the middle class in the early 1960s due to their hard work and use of public education, including the University of Hawaii for post-secondary education.

The Filipino Americans followed suit, due to the establishment of Operation Manong since the 1970s and the Pamantasan Council at the University of Hawaii Manoa and other college-readiness and success programs tailored for Filipinos through the University of Hawaii System. Unfortunately for Pacific Islanders, the most underrepresented ethnic minority in academia, no programs exist to ensure college admission and graduation success.

Establishing a program specifically for Pacific Islanders, and employing Pacific Islanders as program staff and faculty who are knowledgeable about cultural values and practices, as well as proficient in language skills to serve as role models, should be given a very high priority at the UH Manoa.

Failure to establish a program specifically for our marginalized population that continues to live in poverty will suffocate our youth and community, and the ripple effect on Hawaii will be devastating.

The “RADx-UP Puipuia le Ola Study” indicates an urgent need for a permanent program funded by the Hawaii state government showing that we care about this significantly underserved and under-appreciated population in Hawaii. A iai ni alofa, lafo i Futu is a Samoan proverb that fits this plea which translates as, “if there is aloha, help Pacific Islander children prosper.”