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.

People from diverse communities are urged to support a new national research project on hepatitis C treatment. In the era of hepatitis C elimination, not enough is known about the experiences of hepatitis C, its treatment and health experiences post-treatment.

Entitled ‘Lived experiences of treatment for hepatitis C in Australia’, the project investigates challenges to hepatitis C treatment uptake, including stigma and ways of improving treatment experiences. This Australian Research Council-funded project will produce a website on personal experiences of hepatitis C that speaks directly to potential treatment users and their friends and families, while also informing health workers and other relevant professionals about the new treatments and the issues surrounding them.

The project aims to interview people undergoing hepatitis C treatment and collect in-depth understanding of their experiences of hepatitis C, treatment and related issues. People with past or present experiences with hepatitis C are encouraged to participate. The team are currently seeking to interview people living in Victoria and New South Wales who:

• Were diagnosed with hepatitis C after a medical procedure.
• Have had multiple hepatitis C diagnoses, for example, acquiring hepatitis C again after previously curing it.
• Contracted hepatitis C overseas.

 Participation involves an audio-recorded one-hour interview with a trained university researcher.

 All participants are reimbursed $50 for their time and contribution to the research.

Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service of Sydney Local Health District is assisting the Research advisory panel to develop materials needed to conduct interviews and, later the website.

If you would like to share your hepatitis C treatment experience, please contact:

Dr Adrian Farrugia
Phone: 0492 150 050
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Starting 2021, temporary visa holders in Australia who are living with HIV will gain access to subsidised HIV treatment and care.

Approved by Federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, this change will allow overseas students, workers and others on temporary visas to access subsidised HIV treatment.

The news was welcomed by Donatella Cifali, Senior Social Worker at Diversity Hub’s Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS). 

“We commend the government’s decision to subsidise HIV medications for Medicare-ineligible temporary visa holders. We have long advocated the issue, and believe it is the right step towards equity for all people living with HIV,” said Ms. Cifali. 

A large number of clients with MHAHS are Medicare-ineligible. Up until now, they have had to purchase their own medication at full cost, usually imported generic drugs from overseas or have relied upon compassionate access, which is not uniformly available via health providers.

“It is a relief to know that our clients will now be able to easily obtain health-giving medication just like anyone else. The decision also shows government commitment to ending HIV in Australia and globally,” said Ms. Cifali.

Visit our 2020 World AIDS Day campaign page here.

Finding the right information at the right time is critical if people are to stay healthy and to support our global goal to eliminate AIDS by 2030, according to Barbara Luisi, Director of the Diversity Programs and Strategy Hub at Sydney Local Health District.

As part of the state-wide Live Healthy with HIV campaign during the 2020 HIV Awareness Week, the Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS) is encouraging people from culturally and linguistically diverse background to access multilingual booklet, HIV. What you need to know to stay healthy.

“Our booklet explains what it means to live with HIV as well as how people can protect themselves from HIV. The resource has up to date information on HIV test and treatment and a comprehensive list of care and support services to allay people’s concerns about living with HIV. It is a great resource to have and share.”

Available in 8 languages, the e-booklet can be downloaded here and free hard copies are available to order.

A number of events are being organised across Australia to support the HIV awareness campaign. Diversity Hub is supporting the campaign by undertaking an ethnic media campaign across 8 languages as well as partnering with the local HARP unit to organise information stalls in the local area.

For more campaign details, visit our campaign page here.