More than 100 Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are gathering in Washington, D.C., to develop a Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander National Health Agenda aimed at improving their health status.

The 2007 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Health Summit: Navigating Toward Health & Well Being brings together healthcare professionals and advocates, researchers, policymakers and government representatives to address the need for capacity building, overall health disparities and other unmet health needs of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities in the continental U.S., in Hawai'i and the Pacific Basin.

The goal of the two-day summit, which wraps up today, is to develop strategies and solutions to improve the access to, and quality of, healthcare for Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

The two-day summit wraps up today.

With more than 0.3 percent of the total U.S. population, these groups have one of the highest rates of uninsured and people with diabetes and other chronic diseases; are among the lowest in representation in health professions; and poorest outcome of cancer detection and treatment.