HND Celebrates Launch of White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI)

HND Celebrates Launch of White House Initiative on
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI)

Saint Paul, MN – HND celebrates the announcement that the Biden-Harris Administration is launching the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. The announcement was delivered by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra. The Initiative looks to help advance equity, justice, and opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities in the United States. The initiative will now be administered within the HSS Department, where it was originally housed when it was first launched in 1999 under the Clinton Administration. 

“HND celebrates the launch as it confirms the commitment to help combat the growing racist attacks against Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, which have increased significantly since the start of the pandemic last year.” says HND’s CEO May yer Thao . “HND welcomes, appreciates and supports the initiative under the leadership of the Biden-Harris administration at such a critical time for Hmong communities nationwide. Our community has endured many challenges, and while much more needs to be done, this is a very important step in the right direction. ” Thao said.

The COVID pandemic has highlighted the significant disparities for communities of color, including AANHPI communities in the country, which have experienced a significant increase in anti-asian attacks. We anticipate this initiative will help our communities, and we look forward to collaborating and working together to support, promote, and strengthen the efforts, which will significantly benefit Hmong  communities all across the United States.

The WHIAANHPI initiative will help to respond to the increase in anti-Asian bias and attacks; help to produce disaggregated data on AA and NHPI communities; expand language access and language assistance programs for AA and NHPI individuals across federal programs; address educational, health, economic, and housing disparities impacting AA and NHPI communities, and more. 

For more information on the initiative, visit www.hhs.gov/whiaanhpi

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HND is a national 501(c)3, nonprofit whose mission is to: empower the Hmong community to achieve prosperity and equality through education, research, policy and advocacy, and leadership development. For more information about HND, please visit www.hndinc.org