This year, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) expanded its long-standing partnership with Marshallese communities by taking diabetes education and training directly to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Last spring, in March 2025, a UAMS delegation traveled to Majuro to train community health workers and health professionals in the Family-Model Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (FDSMES) program which prioritizes families at the center of diabetes care.
The training was led by Dr. Sheldon Riklon, a Marshallese physician and associate professor with the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation, Dr. Jonell Husdon, associate professor in the College of Pharmacy, and other members of the UAMS Northwest Regional Campus team. The week-long training reviewed the program curriculum and prepared participants to provide the health education to their communities. More than 14 community health workers, registered nurses and providers from partners such as Kora in Jiban Lorlorjake Ejmour, MEI, Canvasback Wellness Center, and the Ministery of Health and Human Services attended the 40-hour training. The curriculum emphasizes practical skills, culturally relevant nutrition education, family involvement, and long-term community support.
The visit built on more than five years of collaborative diabetes work with Marshallese communities in Northwest Arkansas, Hawaiʻi, Washington state, and now the Marshall Islands itself. We spoke more with Preston Tolliver about the program and training in Majuro. He reflected: “What really stuck with me was how familiar it felt being in Majuro. It felt really similar to some of the small towns in Arkansas.” Having grown up in a one road-town in Arkansas, walking the train tracks to the river in the mornings, he said he felt that same sense of security in Majuro: “being 6000 miles away but still feeling a sense of home there. That’s what I really took away from experience there was how comfortable, welcoming, and inviting the community was there.”
For Preston Tolliver, the trip carried both professional and personal meaning. After years of working with Marshallese families in Northwest Arkansas, visiting the Marshall Islands offered deeper insight into the history, resilience, and strengths that shape Marshallese health experiences. Tolliver also attended Nuclear Remembrance Day events, connecting current health disparities to historical trauma and displacement.
Diabetes remains one of the most pressing health challenges facing Marshallese communities. While about 15% of Arkansans live with diabetes, estimates suggest that up to 60% of adults in the Marshall Islands may be affected. Health leaders in RMI point to structural factors—such as reliance on imported foods following U.S. nuclear testing between 1946 and 1958—that have reshaped diets and health outcomes over generations.
Marshallese health leaders welcomed the collaboration. Secretary of Health Francyne Wase-Jacklick emphasized that diabetes prevention and education are national priorities, while Wilfred Alik, interim deputy secretary for Primary Health Care, highlighted that most noncommunicable diseases affecting Marshallese communities are preventable. UAMS leaders stress that this work is not a one-time visit, but part of a sustained, reciprocal partnership.
