2011 International Conference for Health Statistics in the Pacific Islands

On the 5^th to the 8^th of July, 2011 statisticians from the American Statistical Association, the Statistical Society of Australia, the New Zealand Statistical Association and local statistics communities from the Pacific Islands will come together in Suva, Fiji to hold the First International Conference for Health Statistics in the Pacific Islands (ICHSPI-2011). We warmly welcome you to the sunny shores of Fiji to be a part of this ground-breaking event.

For many people outside the Pacific Islands, the mention of Fiji brings many visions to mind ... cocktails by the pool, idyllic beaches, crystal clear ocean waters, and glorious sunsets. These images are strongly captured by the American film industry in movies such as The Blue Lagoon and Castaway. While these visions are a strong component of Fiji’s identity, behind the glossy pictures lies a developing nation full of peaceful and fun-loving people who are working hard to tackle health problems that are faced by developing nations in the Pacific rim. Statisticians play a pivotal role in the advancement of developing nations as policy-makers strive to characterize and understand the complex challenges faced by their country.

We invite you to be a part of this ground-breaking event. For more information visit the ICHSPI-2011 website (http://www.statsoc.org.au/PacificHealth) or contact either Mark Griffin (Chair of the ICHSPI-2011 Organising Committee) at m.griffin@uq.edu.au or James J. Cochran (ICHSPI-2011 Program Chair) at jcochran@cab.latech.edu.

This conference is proudly supported by Statistics Without Borders (http://community.amstat.org/AMSTAT/StatisticsWithoutBorders), the Health Policy Statistics Section of the American Statistical Association (http://www.amstat-online.org/sections/hpss), and the Statistical Society of Australia (http://www.statsoc.org.au).