In the summer of 2022, SAAPRI’s Executive Director Shobhana Verma and Health Equity Project Intern Emmanuel Ravichandar attended the Asian Engagement & Recruitment Core’s (ARC) 2022 National Conference. SAAPRI joined the Asian Health Coalition (AHC), Center for Asian Health Equity, and healthcare advocates like Dr. Karriem Watson, Chief Engagement Officer of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded All of Us Research Program, Dr. Karen E. Kim, Vice Provost for Research of the University of Chicago, and Fornessa Randal, Executive Director of AHC, among many other national partners.
Racial justice and equity is at the heart of SAAPRI’s work. With the continued dearth of data for all communities of color including South Asian Americans, we believe that the first step in increasing racial justice is to collect, analyze, and present research that allows the community and their issues to be made visible. Only with this data can historically underserved populations gain the resources and support they need. Together we can help collect health data on the AANHPI community to promote health equity.