Sydney Local Health District is encouraging local communities to come back to their doctors and resume their critical liver health checks.

“Now is the time to take care of ourselves and look after your liver health. If you are living with chronic hepatitis B, getting tested and finding whether you have hepatitis B is part of it. Without treatment, chronic hepatitis B can lead to liver cancer. Postponing your hepatitis B test may delay life-saving treatment,” said Barbara Luisi, Director of Diversity Programs and Strategy Hub.

The Are you living with hepatitis B? Find Out. Get Tested campaign developed by the Diversity Programs and Strategy Hub encourages people from diverse communities to get tested for hepatitis B and look after their liver health. Starting May 2^nd, the month-long state-wide campaign across ethnic newspaper, radio and social media campaign aims to raise awareness of hepatitis B testing and treatment across the Arabic-speaking, Chinese-speaking, Korean, Sub-Saharan African, and Vietnamese communities living in NSW.

Visit our multilingual Hepatitis B Testing Options Page for more information. A multilingual resource toolkit, which includes the campaign digital and hard copy resources is available on the campaign webpage.

For more information, please call Sonam Paljor at 0436 649 000 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The multilingual HIV information booklet HIV – What you need to know has been recognised as a finalist in the 2021 Multicultural Health Communication Awards, as the world marks 40 years since the start of the AIDS epidemic.

The booklet was developed by the Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS) partnered with the community. It focuses on HIV prevention, testing, and treatment as well as addressing stigma and improving access to health services.

“Advances in treatments and prevention mean that people with HIV on effective treatments can enjoy long and healthy lives, have virtually no risk of passing on HIV to others and can have children without HIV,” Barbara Luisi, the District’s Director of the Diversity Programs and Strategy Hub, said.

“In response to the concerns of our community, we developed this booklet in partnership with them. Insights and feedback from community consultations, focus group testing and peer-review played a critical role in taking a culturally appropriate approach to a sensitive topic,” Ms Luisi said.

The booklet is available in eight languages – English, Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.

So far, more than 6,500 hard copies have been distributed state-wide through healthcare services, NGOs and community based organisations. Digital copies can be downloaded here.

The recognition as a finalist in the Multicultural Health Communication Awards coincides with World AIDS Day, which is an opportunity to reflect on the response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. This year’s theme is 40 years of HIV – where to next?

The winners of the Multicultural Health Communication Awards will be announced on 8 December 2021.

Visit our campaign page for more details.

This HIV Testing Week (1-7 June) encourages people to make HIV testing more routine. Aimed at making more people aware of their HIV status, the campaign asks people at risk to make HIV testing a part of their regular self-care.

This campaign encourages people at risk of HIV to ask their doctor for a test, according to Barbara Luisi, Director of the Diversity Programs and Strategy Hub at Sydney Local Health District.
 

“Knowing your HIV test result early means getting the right help on time. With treatment, people have a better chance of living long, healthy lives and not passing on the virus,” said Ms Luisi.

HIV remains a public health concern in Australia with an estimated 29,045 people living with HIV in 2019. According to the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) more than three thousand people remain unaware they have the virus and may be unknowingly passing it on to others. They also risk missing out on getting HIV treatments on time due to late diagnosis.
 
There are a variety of ways to get a HIV test these days, including not having to visit a clinic in person for testing.
 
The online Dried Blood Spot (DBS) Testing allows people to order a free testing kit, do the test in the privacy of their own home and send it to a laboratory to check their results.

The test can be ordered by visiting the DBS site http://www.hivtest.health.nsw.gov.au which also has information in a range of languages including plain English.

The Sydney Local Health District based Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service is supporting the campaign by promoting HIV home testing across Arabic, Chinese, Indonesian and Thai community media.

Visit our campaign page for more details.

An International Student Health Hub was launched in Sydney on March 10 to support overseas students in New South Wales.

Aimed at providing international students information on how to navigate Australia’s health care system, the Hub, launched by the International Students Consortium, will assist students accessing health services including sexual and reproductive health.

“It’s more important than ever that we give overseas students the help they need to stay healthy and enjoy their experience in Australia,” said Wa’el Sabri, Senior Community Engagement Officer at Diversity Hub and Co-leader of the International Students Consortium.

“Navigating our health care system remains a big challenge to most people including our international students. The Hub will provide the international students with a ‘one stop shop’  for all sexual health information needs and enable health care services to work together to enhance the student experience in NSW,” Mr Sabri said.

“Diversity Hub is proud to be one of early founding members of the consortium and be part of the effort to empower this diverse international student population. We are pleased that the consortium found our multilingual HIV website informative and gave a backlink to our site.

“We are calling on all stakeholders to support the Hub, from English language colleges, to community organisations to former international students.”

To explore more, visit the website here.