The Arabic Community Hepatitis B Project, a joint 5-month project of the MHAHS and South West Sydney Local Health District, has successfully concluded last week. Aimed at increasing awareness of hepatitis B testing and treatment in Arabic-speaking communities, the project registered a wealth of community action and support.

More than seven interviews with key health and community leaders and more than 360 public service announcements about hepatitis B were broadcast by key community radio stations. Twelve community education sessions were conducted with eight community organisations in 11 locations across Sydney.

“The sessions were flexible and designed to suit the nature of community gathering. They focused on the importance of testing as being the only way to find out if you have hepatitis  B as well as  the benefits of treatment. 99% of participants reported they learnt something new about hepatitis B and 95% said they would share the information with family and friends,” said project officer Ms Faten Solaqa.

Ms Solaqa said one of the project’s initial challenges was introducing  the topic of hepatitis B to the community. She described the project as being valuable in terms of learning how local communities engaged with a potentially unfamiliar topic.

“Our vision was to create a community that is aware of hepatitis B and able to access  the services it needs from the local health system. Our motto was to give the Arabic-speaking community a voice, get them to talk about hepatitis B and ask their doctor for a test,” said Faten.

Working in partnership with health and community organisations is a key component of MHAHS’ work. The service has a long history of successfully implementing programs to engage with and build the capacity of culturally diverse communities.

Visit www.mhahs.org.au for more information about our community development initiatives or Like us on www.facebook.com/TheMHAHS .

The photo booth organised by the South Western Sydney Local Health District at Eid Show at Bankstown was a big hit!

The booth provided added fun for those visiting our hepatitis B information stall, according Faten Solaqa, project officer for the Arabic Community Hepatitis B Project.

“Not only did the booth give visitors to our stall visitors a fun photo experience, it meant they went home with a lasting memory of the big day plus a valuable health message about hepatitis B,” said Ms Solaqa.

Hundreds of hepatitis B resources were distributed at the event including Hepatitis B: It's a family business booklet produced by the MHAHS in English and Arabic.

Ms Solaqa revealed how she also hammed it up at the festival.

“I used a few props to take photos with my friends. One look at the photos and the event is as real as it was on the day. The photos are also social media friendly allowing me share them and spread the word about hepatitis B on email, facebook and instagram from my mobile,” said Ms Solaqa.

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The MHAHS in partnership with South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) is set to welcome Eid with a three- day health information stall at Annual Islamic Eid Show at Bankstown Showground from 15-17 June.

Eid Al-Fitr is the most important religious and cultural festival for the Muslim community and is held at the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

MHAHS Hepatitis B Project Officer, Faten Solaqa, who is co-organising the stall said Eid is one of the most vibrant festivals and is open to people of all cultural backgrounds.

"We're excited the festival provides us a platform to reach thousands of people with free health information. We are focused on highlighting the importance of people asking their doctor for a hepatitis B test and seeking timely treatment, if necessary,” said Ms Solaqa.

"We are also delighted to work with the team from South Western Sydney Local Health District to further our joint project to increase hepatitis B awareness among Arabic-speaking communities,” said Ms Solaqa.

Visitors to our stall can discuss hepatitis B with Arabic-speaking staff and get Hepatitis B: it’s a family business information booklet in either English and Arabic. They can also have their photo taken at the photo booth and get a free, personalised Eid and health message to share on their mobile devices.

More than 100 thousand people are expected to attend the festival in Sydney and Melbourne. In addition to numerous sumptuous food stalls, there will be vendors selling cultural artifacts, family and fun activities for kids, and much more.

WHAT: Annual Islamic Eid Show
WHERE: Bankstown Showgrounds,  178 Eldridge Rd, Condell Park NSW 2200
WHEN: 15-17 June, 2pm – 9pm on Friday & 10am – 9pm on Saturday & Sunday. Hepatitis B stall will operate between 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm on all three days.

For more details about the Eid Show visit www.eidshow.com. 

Positive Life NSW has launched 7 Good Reasons to test for HIV Now with a sneak peek screening of a powerful new documentary Nothing Without Us at Dendy Cinemas Newtown on 4th June. The film, yet to be released in Australia, tells the story of the exemplary role women living with HIV have played and continue to play in the global HIV response.

Positive Life NSW CEO, Craig Cooper, said the launch of 7 Good Reasons to test for HIV Now is part of HIV Testing Week. The new multilingual resource was developed by Positive Life NSW, Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS) and Pozhet.



“The theme for this year is Never Tested for HIV? Get tested today. The campaign is asking people at risk to get tested for  HIV because roughly one in ten people living with HIV don’t know they have the virus,” said Mr Cooper. 
 
Thirty percent of people who are newly diagnosed with HIV are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and HIV affects people of all genders, cultures, languages and nationalities.

“We are pleased to partner with the Positive Life NSW and Pozhet who are reaching out to people from culturally diverse backgrounds,” said Barbara Luisi, manager of the MHAHS.

"We are excited to continue our partnership and complement their work across NSW”.

7 Good Reasons to test for HIV Now is a companion resource to 7 Good Reasons to Start HIV Treatment Now.

The digital resource covers seven of the key reasons why people should get tested for HIV in plain everyday language and was  designed to engage people with low literacy skills who may be also from diverse cultural backgrounds.

It  has been developed in English, Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.

The resource is available on the MHAHS website at  http://mhahs.org.au/index.php/en/hiv/7-reasons-to-test.