PAGO PAGO, AMERICAN SAMOA. We are extremely fortunate to have engaged committed External Advisors to the CHL Program who have extraordinary experience in obesity prevention from a comprehensive range of complementary perspectives. Dr. Boyd Swinburn, from the University of Auckland, has led community based obesity prevention trials in the South Pacific, and is Co-Director of a World Health Organization Center dedicated to preventing obesity. Dr. Suzanne Murphy, Emeritus with the University of Hawaii, is a renowned nutritionist who has led Institute of Medicine Teams to guide US food and nutrition programs. Dr. Wendy Snowdon, of WHO Fiji Office, has worked throughout the Pacific, formerly with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, and now with WHO, is an expert in food and nutrition policy. Dr. Jennifer Anderson, Emeritus with the Colorado State University, is a nutritionist who developed a healthy food and physical activity educational intervention for young children. Dr. Kathryn Kolasa, Emeritus with the Brody School of Medicine at Eastern Carolina University, and Master Educator for an array of health professionals in nutrition and dietetics.
In addition, we had our annual program meeting in American Samoa in June 2014. We worked. A typical day of the 5-day meeting was getting up early doing our individual activity for our health competition, then a healthy breakfast, and then nearly 8-hours of presentations, conversations, decision-making, and site visits. We started the meeting with a traditional Samoan Ava ceremony, and ended with a wonderful gift giving. The meeting allowed us to take stock of our progress, see some local examples of where CHL actives are being implemented with partners, and make precise plans for the next year. Here are a few photos from the meeting.
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