Committee on Native American Child Health (CONACH)

The Committee on Native American Child Health (CONACH) is dedicated to the optimal health and wellbeing of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and offers expertise to individuals and groups within the AAP and throughout the country. It works to bring awareness about major health issues and barriers to care through educational programming, advocacy, and promoting the importance of cultural humility and respect in medicine. The committee is also focused on encouraging and highlighting pathways to pediatrics for Indigenous trainees.

CONACH includes:

• Six committee members appointed by the AAP Board of Directors
• The chair of the Indigenous Health Special Interest Group, and
• Liaisons representing:
  • AAP Council on Community Pediatrics
  • AAP Section on Pediatric Trainees
  • American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
  • American Psychological Association
  • Association of American Indian Physicians
  • Indian Health Service Chief Clinical Consultant in Pediatrics
  • Indian Health Service Maternal and Child Health Consultant.   

Meetings and Activities

Business Meetings
CONACH holds two business meetings each year, aligned with its annual legislative visits and Indian Health Service (IHS) consultative visits, respectively. These meetings focus on the major health and social needs of AI/AN children and explore how other members of the healthcare community can help address these needs.
 
Legislative Visits
Committee members travel annually to Washington, DC, to meet with federal representatives and present a legislative briefing on key issues affecting AI/AN child health. Recurring priorities include addressing IHS and Tribal health workforce shortages and ensuring adequate federal funding for AI/AN child health programs, including early childhood and family services. In between these visits, the committee continuously monitors important changes to policy impacting AI/AN health with support of the AAP legislative team.  

Consultative Visits
Each year, the committee travels to one of the twelve IHS areas to visit IHS, Tribally Owned, and Urban Indian Health Program (I/T/U) health facilities in that region. Goals of the visits are to learn about site-specific successes and challenges, identify opportunities to enhance pediatric care, share informational resources to support the site’s child health capacity, and explore opportunities for CONACH’s work. 

Ways to Get Involved

Committee Membership
Interested AAP members can apply for executive committee positions through the AAP committee nomination process. Committee members are selected based on their commitment to advocating for AI/AN children and their experience working directly with AI/AN children and youth. To learn more or express interest, please email [email protected]. Members of the executive committee cannot be current employees of the Indian Health Service but may be employed by Tribally Owned (638 compact) or Urban Indian health centers.  

Donate
Make a donation to the CONACH fund to help build a sustainable source to promote the committee’s priorities and to support medical student and resident participation in CONACH activities. Every contribution has an impact, no matter the size. Thank you in advance for your generosity and for your invaluable support of our organization.

International Meeting on Indigenous Child Health
The Committee organizes the biennial International Meeting on Indigenous Child Health (IMICH), a unique multidisciplinary and international conference which brings together clinicians, researchers and community members from around the world who are passionate about improving Indigenous child health. This conference centers Indigenous knowledge and culture and highlights community-based solutions to health concerns experienced in many Indigenous communities. 

Native American Child Health Advocacy Award
Each year, CONACH presents the Native American Child Health Advocacy Award to recognize an individual who has made a significant contribution to AI/AN child health. Visit the site to submit a nomination or learn more.

Employment Resources

Find and share pediatric opportunities at I/T/U Sites on AAP PedsJobs.

The AAP careers website offers one-month job postings free of charge to IHS/Tribal/Urban (I/T/U) facilities. To post a position, first create an account for your employer, then click on the “Employer” button to get started. Use promo code “IHS30” in the payments section when checking out. This code is set up strictly for I/T/U facilities and there will be a zero charge for each posting. There are four promo codes available per month and are available on a first come, first served basis. Various pediatric clinician positions and/or subspecialties can be posted.  

For IHS sites, employment listings can also be found at Indian Health Service Job Opportunities and USAJobs.  

AAP CONACH Partner Organizations

• Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) at the Aspen Institute
• National Indican Child Welfare Association (NICWA)
• National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH)
• National Indian Health Board (NIHB)