Mparntwe Aboriginal Sexual Health NT/SA Workshop

On 10 – 11 August the AHCSA Sexual Health team were in the Northern Territory for the Aboriginal Sexual Health Workshop in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) at the Desert Knowledge Precinct.

The team worked on the development of this workshop with NT Health’s Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Unit and Clinic 34, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT) and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO).

The purpose of the workshop was to provide an Aboriginal-led, culturally based space for Aboriginal Health Practitioners and non-clinical Aboriginal workers to share their successes, challenges, experiences and learnings from their work responding to the syphilis outbreak in Central and southern Australia.

Because syphilis isn’t limited by state borders, the workshop brought together workers from Northern Territory and South Australia, and blended practical clinical skills sessions with community stories and yarning spaces.

The opportunity to take part in the workshop was valuable for sexual health workers, who had the opportunity to come together to network and share knowledge after reduced opportunities to do so in the last couple of years due to COVID-19.

It was also valuable for sexual health upskilling for workers from South Australia in the lead up to the enhanced 6-week STI screening, which is fast approaching.