History and Mission

The South Asian Health Initiative (SAHI) was founded in June 2004 by New York University School of Medicine's Center for Immigrant Health (CIH) and Center for the Study of Asian American Health (CSAAH). SAHI was formed to respond to the growing numbers of South Asian immigrants and their families in the United States and their particular health needs.

South Asians in the United States are a diverse group. Persons hail from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Nepal, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, as well as from countries such as Guyana, Trinidad and Kenya. South Asian immigrants are among the fastest growing segment of our population. The South Asian Health Initiative (SAHI) was founded by New York University School of Medicine's Center for Immigrant Health (CIH) and Center for the Study of Asian American Health (CSAAH).

SAHI's mission builds upon CIH's work in underserved immigrant communities for the past fifteen years. We accomplish our work by helping South Asian community members navigate through the U.S. health care system. SAHI also organizes community health fairs in order to establish a presence in the community and bring much needed preventive health services to the South Asian community. SAHI facilitates the delivery of linguistically, culturally, and epidemiologically sensitive healthcare services to South Asian communities. SAHI is a partnership of community members, public health practitioners, physicians, dentists, researchers, and advocates.