Stanley Goosby, a chief scientist with the Pacific Disaster Center in Hawaii, said Indian Ocean countries have made significant progress in tsunami preparedness.

CNN: Asian tsunami warning system: A last-mile challenge

"You have to have an end-to-end system, " Goosby said.

CNN: Asian tsunami warning system: A last-mile challenge

In addition, many senior-level administration officials spoke at the conference, including Secretaries Clinton and Sebelius, Ambassador Eric Goosby, Dr. Grant Colfax of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, and Dr. Tony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health.

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