Year-in-Review-2021-22 - Flipbook - Page 146
Feature:
Our Stories
District marks World AIDS Day as booklet
about living with HIV recognised
A multilingual HIV information booklet developed by
Sydney Local Health District 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 state-wide Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis
Service, hosted by the District, partnered with
the community to develop the booklet, called
HIV – What you need to know. 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.
communities, many of whom report feeling isolated
and stigmatised within the general community.
“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 peerreview 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 from the Multicultural
HIV and Hepatitis Service.
The Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service
works with people living with HIV from diverse
Scholarship named in honour
of Sami Azmol
Sydney Local Health District, and the family
of popular RPA accountant, Sami Azmol, have
launched an annual scholarship in his honour.
Sami died unexpectedly on 6 December last year,
devastating the District’s finance team, and the
wider RPA and District family. He’d worked for the
District for four years.
The Sami Azmol Scholarship, funded by the
District, will provide $10,000 annually to support
future finance leaders to fulfil their career goals.
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