New Year, Renewed Focus:
Tackling Hepatitis in Our Communities
While we have made good progress in 2024 toward improving hepatitis B and hepatitis C outcomes in Queensland, significant challenges remain in achieving our 2030 goals. As we enter 2025, we want to address the key gaps that require focused efforts:
1. More than 30% of people living with hepatitis B have not been diagnosed
2. Nearly 80% of people living with chronic hepatitis B do not regularly monitor their liver condition as recommended.
3. In Queensland 22,889 people living with hepatitis C have received curative treatment between 2016 and October 2023.
4. However, an estimated 74000 people in Australia are still living with hepatitis C, with Queensland having 2105 new notifications of hepatitis C infection in 2023
Hepatitis B.
Whilst not all people living with chronic hepatitis B need treatment, but ALL people living with chronic hepatitis B need regular liver health checks. These checks include blood tests (including hepatitis B DNA every 12 months), liver ultrasounds every six months (for certain groups), and fibrosis assessments (such as Fibroscan every12 months).
Hepatitis C
The Australian Government continues to subsidise the highly effective treatments, which can be prescribed by a GP or a nurse practitioner with special training. To find out if you have hepatitis C all you need is a simple specific blood test. Just ask your health provider.
How can ECCQ help reach these targets?
We offer free information, education and resources about hepatitis in multiple languages for diverse communities. If needed, we can support you to access services.
In addition, we can offer (for a limited time) free Rapid Point of Care Testing (POCT) involving a finger-prick tests for:
• Hepatitis C antibodies – a detectable result will indicate you have been exposed to the hepatitis C virus – confirmatory testing is needed with a GP or nurse practitioner to then determine if you have current infection and if treatment is needed.
• Hepatitis B surface antigen testing – a detectable result means you may have chronic hepatitis B – further confirmatory testing and follow up is required by your GP or nurse practitioner.
This is a time-limited research project supported by the Kirby Institute and funded by the Australian Government Department of Health. It is free for all people living in Queensland, regardless their visa or Medicare status. The results are confidential. To find more please contact [email protected].
Let’s make 2025 the year, to find those people who may be infected and don’t know it, to get diagnosed and get the care they need, and help eliminate hepatitis.
Remember our personal health is our most valuable asset. We need to ensure we take care of ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally, taking time to seek out the care that we need.
To find more information about hepatitis B and hepatitis C please either visit our webpage at eccq.com.au/bbv where you can find information in your language or contact us at the Love Health Program at ECCQ on 3844 9166 or email [email protected].
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all community members who have supported us throughout the year. We look forward to your continued support in 2025 and beyond!
If you are living in Cairns, you can contact Damian Garozzo-Vaglio at Cairns Sexual Health Services by calling 4226 4760 or emailing [email protected].
What is Raja yoga meditation?
The very word Veda means knowledge, derived from the root vid. Indeed, the Vedas are the fountainhead of the knowledge. Entire humanity recognizes that Rgveda is the oldest book in the library of the mankind. However, the truth is that the four Vedas (Rgveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda) were revealed to four Rsis at the dawn of the mankind on the earth. God’s Revelation of Vedas: Badaraymja, the author of Brahmasutra (also called Vedanta-Dariana) declares at the outset that God exists because Vedas exist — ilistrayonitvdt. It must be so because the most benevolent God must reveal the knowledge to the mankind once He creates the creation and His masterpiece that the man is. Pataajali, the author of Yoga Dariana declares that God is the original teacher for the mankind — sa parvesamapi guruh kalenanavacchedat. The common sense says that God’s revelation must appear at the onset of the creation so that everybody, the first generation included, benefits from the same. Any book that appears into the world after human beings have inhabited the earth for a length of time can’t claim to be God’s revelation. Also, God’s revelation of knowledge includes the knowledge of the language. So, any book that claims to be God’s revelation must appear before the knowledge of the language developed. That means that a book in Arabic can’t be God’s revelation if the Arabic language had developed before the book appeared. Similarly, a book appearing in Latin or Hebrew can not be God’s revelation if these languages had developed at the time of appearance of that book. On the same token, Gird can not be called as God’s revelation because the language of Sanskrit was very much in its developed form when Gita came into existence. Therefore, only Vedas can be God’s revelations because they only gave rise to the language that is called Sanskrit. Commensurate to the unique features of the Vedas, man’s greatest effort was focused on preserving them since his advent on the earth. He devised several methods to recite it to preserve the same without any infinitesimal change even in a letter and its pronunciation. We Indians should take extreme pride that our forefathers took utmost care to such an extent. Of course, they were guided in their zeal and effort by the belief that it is God given word which they must pass on to the future generations, come what may. There is no other book even remotely close to such a unique astounding feature that the Vedas are associated with. Both the Creation and the Vedas Show Harmony: The very next line 135.darayana wrote after the above quoted line was — tattu sanzanvayat. Vedas must be God’s revelations because all they contain tally well with the creation. For example, the earth is referred to as bhiigola, meaning the earth is round like a sphere as is indeed the case. This led the ancient people in India to know that the earth is round like a ball while, on the contrary, the people in West Asia and elsewhere I thought it to be flat like a mat. There is nothing in the Vedas that is contrary to what is seen in nature. Over and beyond what we know today, the Vedas may contain many more revelations that we might not even be aware of today. Vedas contain knowledge about both matter and spirit. The knowledge about matter is in seed form leaving ample room for man to discover further and create his own body of literature. On the other hand, knowledge pertaining to spirit is at its pinnacle that man will never be able to add anything to that body of knowledge. The Vedas will always remain relevant like the sun is. Though man has created many sources of light to dispel the darkness, He remains dependent upon the sun. The role of Vedas is like that of the sun albeit in the inner intellectual domain where man must exhibit greater perseverance to dispel the darkness of untrue knowledge, which leads to pains and agonies of much greater proportions. Let us hope that humanity will benefit from the Vedas as much as it benefits from the sun, both having been created by the most benevolent and merciful God. If man followed the path shown by the Vedas in the ancient India, the life was at its brightest zenith. When India deviated from the path of Vedas about 6000 years ago, her downfall began. Since India was the lighthouse for the entire world, it is seen that the humanity too has been in miserable condition in the last few thousand years.
Fiji, like many other Pacific Island nations, has faced an increasing frequency of natural disasters, especially flooding, in recent years. The Christmas season in 2024 was unfortunately marked by severe flooding that impacted western division of the island nation.
The flooding also posed significant health risks, as contaminated water increased the potential for waterborne diseases. Emergency services, local authorities, and international aid organizations quickly mobilized to provide food, medical care, and clean water to affected communities.
The new year is here, and it’s time for many to celebrate the Year of the Wood Snake, beginning on January 29th, 2025, and ending on February 16th, 2026. The Year of the Wood Snake symbolizes growth, creativity, and flexibility. It’s described as a time for introspection and strategic personal development. Many believe that the Wood Snake year offers opportunities to deepen relationships, advance professional goals, and strengthen connections with nature. The Snake is the sixth animal in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese and Chinese zodiacs. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the coming months on how this year resonates with you. Were you born in a Year of the Snake? People born in 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, or 2025 are Snakes. Whether you’re a Snake or not, remember to make time for walks to benefit your mental and physical well-being.
In response to our readers’ requests, I’m delighted to share some exciting upcoming free family-friendly events. In Richlands, the Vietnamese Community in Australia – Queensland Chapter will host their annual Lunar New Year festival from January 24th to 25th, 2025, from 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM at 315 Freeman Road, Richlands. This free event welcomes people of all ages and cultures. I have volunteered at this event from a very young age, so I can assure you it’s an event not to be missed. Grace church will be doing some important fundraising, so please stop by to say hello and buy some delicious traditional Vietnamese food. They have some important goals that we need to support them meet in 2025.
Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the Platinum Events Services Gold Coast’s Sponsors & Volunteers Appreciation Dinner, hosted by President Manish Saini and his team. Hearing from community and business leaders who are making a grassroots difference was inspiring, including our very own JD Deo. Great to hear from community and business leaders dedicated to enriching both the Indian and broader communities and learn about many upcoming Indian and multicultural events in 2025.
The 2024 Pan Pacific Masters Games and championships held at Gold Coast, Australia was an event not to be forgotten by all International Athletes and sportsmen competing in 25 different sports in Various Masters category.
5 Gold, 2 Silver and 3 Bronze and had finished with highest medal winner at Athletics Track and Field Championship.
I say this as within the Itaukei -traditional Fijians ,(62%of the population ) or Indo Fijian ( 34% of the population) diabetes in both men and women is amongst the highest in the world , there is much obesity (40% adult women and 30% adult men ), prostate cancer is the biggest killer of men, other cancers for women and the excessive drinking of Kava, the traditional Fijian drink of hospitality and communal bonding, is leading to domestic violence and the breakdown of families. There are also concerns about the health of children who are not getting an adequate healthy diet
