Working with Communities
Spell ‘Africa’ without B Hepatitis B awareness for African communities
On Friday, 31 May, leaders and educators from African communities in Adelaide came together with Hepatitis SA and Relationships Australia to discuss how hepatitis B affects their communities. Forum participants discussed how to take vital information back to the people they represent. Peter Agalla, originally from South Sudan, is a community educator, and says he is very grateful for the forum as he learnt a lot about hepatitis B. “I have this responsibility now to bring information back to my people,” Peter said. “Most of us [African people] are conditioned around worrying about HIV, not hepatitis.” Peter explains African communities in Adelaide are small and often intertwined so people are afraid to speak up about hepatitis B. He said, “We feel as though if I discuss this with him, is he going to go and tell somebody else? “There is often that lack of trust when you are speaking about something with such stigma.” Clinical Practice Consultant from the Flinders Medical Centre, Rosalie Altus, and Royal Adelaide infectious disease specialist Dr David Shaw presented at the forum to provide
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insights into disease progression, transmission, treatment and testing. Shedrick Kennedy Yarkpai is in charge of an organisation known as African Youth Drive, and also made an appearance on the day. African Youth Drive aims to spread important messages about health to the African and wider communities through dance, song and art. Shedrick performed a song called ‘STI’, which addresses measures of preventing sexually transmitted infections and highlights the importance of being cautious. Shedrick said that it is through education and knowledge that diseases can be prevented. “A lot of us haven’t heard of hep B before, so today has been very educational,” he said. Shedrick explains he feels happy and fulfilled when he has the opportunity to help and educate others. “The more you say to people [about hepatitis B] then the more aware you are yourself.” The community leaders and educators brainstormed effective ways to educate their people, some of which included workshops about hepatitis B after church, an African call-up radio program, more education and awareness about hepatitis B and the promotion of confidentiality. The African leaders and educators plan to continue their work with Relationships Australia and Hepatitis SA to raise awareness and reduce hepatitis B infection rates in their communities.
• HEPATITIS SA COMMUNITY NEWS • SEPTEMBER 2013
Danella Smith
All photos: S Ciotti/RASA
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epatitis B is common in African communities, and African people can begin to experience disease progression as early as their twenties or thirties, which is usually much earlier than for people of Caucasian backgrounds.
Shedrick Kennedy Yarkpai