A delegation of the Korean Federation for HIV/AIDS Prevention (KHAP) visited the Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS) on 18th December to get an insight into how the service responds to the needs of people affected by HIV who are from diverse cultural backgrounds in NSW.

The delegation, led by Pyoung Park, Deputy Director for the Division of HIV/AIDS and TB Control from the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention met with Barbara Luisi, manager of the service and several other members of the MHAHS team.

A range of MHAHS programs were showcased during the meeting, including the MHAHS community development work, client support, media campaigns and Dried Blood Spot HIV home testing.

Engaging community organisations, working in partnership and leadership couched within cultural respect were identified as critical elements to tackling HIV in diverse communities.

Further efforts are needed to increase HIV testing among people and communities at risk of longstanding infection including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, according to the recently released NSW HIV Data Report July-September 2017.

In NSW, new HIV diagnoses have declined over the past six years. This is due to high uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) which is a daily medicine that prevents HIV, higher treatment rates as well as earlier commencement of treatment, and more frequent testing that leads to earlier diagnosis.

However, the report highlights the need to raise awareness of and improve access to the range of testing, treatment and prevention options available in NSW for people born overseas.

Read the report

Workforce development is an important element of our work. Our MHAHS team participated in the 2017 Sydney Local Health District HARP Workforce Development Forum recently held at the Charles Perkins Centre. Our Deputy Manager, Gai Stackpool, co-presented on Using social media to promote Dried Blood Spot HIV testing with Susan McGuckin of Pozhet and our Senior Social Workers, Donatella Cifali and Dash Gray, presented a case study highlighting the issues affecting people living with HIV who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Several MHAHS posters on viral hepatitis  and HIV were also displayed at the forum.


Gai Stackpool and Susan McGuckin co-presenting Using social media to promote Dried Blood Spot HIV testing



Dash Gray and Donatella Cifali presented a case study on HIV

The MHAHS has  launched an ethnic media campaign to support this year’s World AIDS Day campaign on 1st December.  The My Health, My right campaign will focus on the right to health and the challenges faced by people living with HIV from culturally and linguistically diverse communities in accessing HIV testing, treatment and prevention.

The campaign highlights the right of everyone, including people living with and affected by HIV to be treated with respect and dignity, according to Barbara Luisi, manager of the Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS).

“The campaign reminds people that a person’s right to health is compromised when they are unable to  access appropriate HIV testing, prevention and treatment. Marginalized communities, such as people from diverse cultural backgrounds, are often the least able to access their right to health and they are also among the most vulnerable to HIV,” said Ms Luisi.

World Health Organisation estimates that there are about 36 million people living with HIV in the world today with about a third unaware of their HIV status. In Australia, there are 27,150 people living with HIV today with about 12% not knowing their status. About 30 per cent of new diagnoses among people from culturally diverse backgrounds are diagnosed late - meaning treatment may be less effective and the disease can be spread unwittingly.

The campaign is aimed at the sub-Saharan African, Chinese, Indonesian, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese communities in NSW.