A MHAHS information stall at Embassy English College, Charles Sturt University on 16th January was a huge success.

The stall at the Well-Being Expo, staffed by our Health Promotion Officer, Natali Smud and Chinese Cultural Support Officer, Jim Tan, shared information about the service and distributed resources on HIV.

Ms Smud said that the event was a great place to meet international students and hear their views about the epidemic.

“Many students of diverse language backgrounds visited our stall and were keen to know if HIV services in Australia are free and confidential. We are encouraged that many students want to know more about HIV treatment and Dried Blood Spot HIV Home Testing. We were able to explain the students that they don’t have to have a medicare card to access HIV services.  We thank the college for inviting us and hope our information will help the students look after their health”.

The MHAHS International Student’s Project is aimed at raising awareness of contemporary HIV testing, treatment and prevention options among overseas students studying in NSW. It encourages international students to seek free help from relevant HIV services if they feel they are at risk while studying in NSW.

For more project details, contact Gula Sapthari on (9515 1234) or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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