A Call-to-Action reinforced on World Hepatitis Day.

Thursday 25 July, Sydney: At our World Hepatitis Day event, held at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Redfern, 80 guests and staff gathered as a community to promote and strengthen our work in hepatitis B and hepatitis C, the most prevalent blood-borne viruses in Australia. Viral hepatitis is the second leading cause of death from infectious disease globally, according to the World Health Organisation (2024 report). Hepatitis NSW, the state’s peak hepatitis community organisation, is committed to achieving a world free of viral hepatitis by 2028.

Hepatitis NSW CEO Steven Drew said:

“We have a lot to celebrate. In the course of a single generation a life-threatening disease – hepatitis C – has been discovered and a highly effective, simple cure developed. We know so much more now about viral hepatitis. It is important everyone is better informed and able to support family, friends and loved ones who may be at-risk of, or living with hepatitis B or hepatitis C. It will also go a long way to helping address the stigma and discrimination that still exists and is a big barrier to people seeking testing and treatment.’’

Steven was joined by our guest speakers, Bianca Prain (Director of Public Health Programs at the Centre for Population Health, NSW Ministry of Health), Jimmi (lived experience speaker), Rachel (lived experience speaker), Dr Tim Broady (Centre for Social Research in Health UNSW) and Janice Pritchard-Jones (Sydney LHD Hepatitis Coordinator and CNC). Our Welcome to Country was presented by Ms. Binowee Bayles of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. Image: Steven Drew, Hepatitis NSW CEO (lower left). (Top row) Jimmi (lived experience speaker), Dr Tim Broady, Janice Pritchard-Jones, Bianca Prain.

Read the joint media statement by Hepatitis NSW and Hepatitis Australia here.

HEP CURED and Clinical Partners tour NSW

July 2024: Each year, Hepatitis Awareness Week leading to World Hepatitis Day on 28 July, is an opportunity to raise awareness about viral hepatitis and encourage people to act. It is also a chance for our team to promote and support our community partners who are delivering health promotion in outreach services across hospitals, liver clinics, drug health services, mental health and homelessness services.

Hepatitis NSW’s #HEPCURED campaign wants everyone to know that hepatitis C can be cured. The new medication cures over 95% of people in 8 or 12 weeks, and is easy to take, just pills, no injections and has few side effects. More than 55% of people who were living with hepatitis C in NSW have already been cured. Elimination of hepatitis C is now an achievable goal due to the combined efforts of government, the health sector, and our communities.

The #HEPCURED campaign toured throughout NSW in July, where we partnered with health and other services wherever hep C testing and treatment is made available. Across Sydney from Redfern to Ingleburn; and across regional NSW from Woy Woy and Port Macquarie, and Wagga to the Blue Mountains. We also worked with community groups, Local Health Districts and an incredible team of lived-experience peer workers from both Hepatitis NSW and NUAA.

VIEW OUR SLIDESHOW OF HEP CURED 2024 EVENTS IN NSW

NCIE NAIDOC 2024

The 2024 NAIDOC theme was “Keep the fire burning! Blak, loud and proud.” Acting on our Reconciliation Action Plan commitment, Hepatitis NSW staff volunteered at the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence’s NAIDOC 2024 event. Sizzling sausages, attending to bouncy castles, assisting the stage crew and litter patrol were some of the tasks happily taken on by our staff. It was an enriching experience for our team. Incredible music and dance, enlightening conversations and inspiring teamwork with new friends. The cheer that went up when the jarjums took to the dance floor with the Brolga Dance Academy was truly moving. “The Ancestors shining down from above” image courtesy of Grant Cameron, proud Kamilaroi man and NCIE CEO.

UNSW Community Health Expo

Our Hepatitis B & Multicultural Liver Health Team attended the annual UNSW Medicine Community Health Expo on Friday 19 July. The expo is targeted at Undergraduate Medical students.

We joined thirty community organisations, each with an information stall to help introduce students to the different approaches used to maintain health at an individual and society level, and the broad array of services available to assist.

Hepatitis NSW was delighted to be invited back, having volunteered at the Expo in previous years. We spoke to many students about our first-hand experience in hepatitis B education and health promotion.

Hep B Dinner

Hepatitis NSW hosted our second Hep B Dinner as part of Hepatitis Awareness Week celebrations. Last year’s dinner was a huge success and we had an equally fantastic evening again this year with about 40 guests from research, health and community organisations.

The purpose of the dinner is an opportunity for frontline hep B workers to socialise, make connections and promote collaborative action. It gives those working in the hepatitis B space a night of great food and even better company. The dinner provides an opportunity for us all to feel more connected to the hepatitis B sector and the wonderful people that work in this space. Ideas and successes are shared in an informal exchange, and many new partnerships thrive as a result, helping to build a strong effective response to hepatitis B.

Nominations are now open for the 2024 Cheryl Burman Award

The award pays tribute to Cheryl Burman, a key individual who provided exceptional leadership in the NSW viral hepatitis response.

Cheryl served on the Board of the Hepatitis C Council of NSW from 1993 to 2000, and as our President from 1995 to 1999. Cheryl made significant contributions to the governance and leadership of our organisation for almost seven years, and continued to remain friends with and a supporter of Hepatitis NSW. Sadly, Cheryl died on 9 August 2011 after her very long struggle with hep C. We are pleased to name this Award in Cheryl’s memory and honour.

Hepatitis NSW’s Cheryl Burman Award is an annual award, given to a person or group who have done outstanding work in NSW in the fight against viral hepatitis. This could be in the advancement of treatment, support, information provision, prevention or management for people living with viral hepatitis.

How do you nominate someone?

Read the Cheryl Burman Award Process & Guidelines. Then complete the Cheryl Burman Award Nomination Form. You can do this online, or download it in Word and scan-email it back to us.

WORD DOC Cheryl Burman Award nomination form >>

ONLINE Cheryl Burman Award nomination form >>

For further information, please call our office on 02 9332 1853 or email [email protected] (please type CBA in the subject header of your email).
The closing date for nominations is 5pm Monday, 23 September 2024.
This year’s award will be presented at our Audrey Lamb Community Forum, alongside our AGM on Thursday 28 November 2024.

Speaker Service

Real people, reel stories. Long gone are the days when time and distance determined whether one of our lived experience speakers was able to travel to and present at an event. Today our lived experience speakers are skilled in using online technologies to tell their stories. In addition to these ever-broadening opportunities, the appeal for speakers has grown into the demand for video production, recording the speakers’ life journeys.

Produced by Hepatitis NSW communications staff and/or professional filming agencies, our speakers’ videos range from promoting Hepatitis NSW services and resources to capturing speakers’ personal accounts of testing, treatment, and psychosocial issues attached to the impact of hepatitis related stigma and discrimination.

The videos can be used for internal and external stakeholder promotions around viral hep treatment, education, and as training videos. We look forward to continuing to showcase our speakers’ diverse skill sets and bringing you their personal stories to highlight that hep C treatment is easier than ever and that monitoring hep B is key to a healthy liver, and that the community are part of an effective response..

If you’d like to know more about our speakers or to book one for your event, visit our website – hep.org.au/resources/hnsw-speaker-service/ or contact Susanne Wilkinson [email protected]

Hep C Elimination NSW Report 2024

This report evaluates progress towards hepatitis C elimination in NSW, aligning with state, national, and global elimination strategies. It assesses trends in testing, treatment, and prevention measures, as well as hepatitis C incidence, morbidity, and mortality. Each objective has a series of measurable indicators for monitoring progress, including a set of specific targets that evaluate service coverage and impact. The aim of this report is to describe hepatitis C elimination targets, objectives, and indicators, and the level of progress made in NSW.

Key findings

• The framework for ongoing evaluation has been established, providing a foundation for monitoring progress and guiding future efforts towards hepatitis C elimination in NSW.
  
• The initial eight years of the direct-acting antiviral (DAA) era in NSW have shown considerable progress towards hepatitis C elimination goals, particularly in reducing incident infections and hepatitis C-related mortality.
  
• High uptake of curative DAA therapy has not led to increased risk behaviours, with needle and syringe program coverage and testing levels remaining high among people who inject drugs.
  
• Stable risk behaviour combined with high DAA therapy uptake has produced marked declines and hepatitis C prevalence and incidence of new hepatitis C infections.
  
• The burden of advanced liver disease, which was escalating before the introduction of new therapies, is now declining.
  
• Treatment uptake has been remarkably equitable, with indications of higher uptake among higher-risk and marginalised populations.
  
• Despite overall progress, there are still gaps in service delivery with evidence of lower screening and diagnosis of hepatitis C in rural areas.
  
• Ongoing efforts are needed to address persistent stigma and discrimination, enhance prevention strategies, and maintain high levels of testing and treatment to achieve elimination goals.

Finding Light in the Shadows

Sydney artist Leon Fernandes was a staff member here at Hepatitis NSW, when his art journey began. Leon says “I was an educator for several years when it became apparent that I was an artist. Some paradigms might describe me as having a manic episode… I simply couldn’t stop painting, and so I spoke to my bosses about going part-time. They were more than accommodating. My first solo exhibition was in a Surry Hills gallery, and Stuart Loveday and Kay Bazley have attended every opening night since.”

Leon’s upcoming exhibition is at the Downing Centre, Sydney, where the expansive Elizabeth Street windows will host work on a theme inspired by Vincent van Gogh, titled Finding Light in Shadows: Irises Reimagined, running from 2 – 29 August.

Leon explains his relationship with the work of Van Gogh. “Irises is one of my favourite paintings. It’s a joyful painting, that leans towards chaos and drama but lands harmoniously in an unpolished, almost accidental way. The irises are bold bellows of unapologetically blue joy emerging from and collaborating with green entanglement.

“Van Gogh and I have both been overwhelmed by big feelings, we’ve both been financially challenged, spent times in psych facilities, and had an intimate relationship with self-harm, drugs, and suicide. Van Gogh always painted what he wanted, when he wanted, how he wanted. That’s something I strive for, to work on my own terms and to seek out light in shadows.”

Beyond his artistic endeavours, Leon’s extensive involvement in podcasting, community development, social justice, and activism – especially with individuals facing mental health challenges, LGBTQ+ communities, and drug users – deeply enriches his work. See more here:

leonfernandes.art
instagram.com/leonfernandes.art

New ACON Chief Executive Officer Appointed

The ACON Board has announced the appointment of Michael Woodhouse as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Woodhouse brings with him over two decades’ experience in health and human services in the government and NGO sectors and has held a range of executive leadership roles in hospitals, ageing and disability support services and social policy. His appointment follows a transparent and merit-based selection process. ACON President Dr Justin Koonin said: “As an organisation with a 39-year history in HIV and sexuality and gender diverse health in New South Wales, it was important to the Board we appoint a candidate with a strong record in community health, and with the broad range of skills necessary to steer the organisation, as we mark a new chapter in serving our communities. With more than 20 years’ experience in public health and human services, along with his deep community heritage and strong commitment to ACON’s values of inclusion, equity and excellence, Michael is extremely well positioned to meet the challenges and build on the successes and opportunities of the organisation.
For further details please follow this link.

APSAD Canberra 2024

Registrations open now for the 2024 APSAD Conference. Don’t miss out on the incredible learning, collaboration, and networking opportunities that await at APSAD 2024! The 2024 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD) Conference will provide an exciting opportunity for professionals to share, network, and learn with a dynamic and informative program centered around the theme of Inclusion, Innovation, Progress! APSAD 2024 will be held from Wednesday 30 October to Saturday 2 November at the National Convention Centre, Ngunnawal Country (Canberra). Find out more and register now at: https://www.apsadconference.com.au/

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