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Awarded for Excellence in Service Delivery to the Multicultural Community in Victoria
Media Alert
Embargoed until Tuesday 26th October 2010
Our migrant and refugee women are dying from preventable disease: 5 Point
plan launch
Media Opportunity:
What: MCWH Executive Director Adele Murdolo and Justina Nelson Korpoi, refugee
from Sierra Leone and MCWH Leadership Graduate.
When: 11.30am, Tuesday 26th October 2010
Where: The Senate courtyard, Parliament House
Migrant and Refugee women are at significant risk from preventable diseases in
Australia due to a lack of targeted and specialised health programs and policies,
Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH) said today.
Dr Adele Murdolo, Executive Director of MCWH said that lack of access, education and
research into the specific needs of migrant and refugee women are all factors which
are putting these women at risk.
“The blanket approach of Australia’s health system is letting our migrant and refugee
women down, as it simply does not reach those who need it most,” Dr Murdolo said.
“Migrant and refugee women are overrepresented in an array of preventable illnesses
such as diabetes and diabetes-related deaths, maternal deaths and perinatal and
neonatal deaths.
“Mental health and domestic violence are also serious concerns for immigrant and
refugee women.
“Our new 5 point plan maintains that the following areas need to be improved in the
Federal Government’s approach to migrant and refugee health:
PREVENTION
Expand the health education program to meet demand
nationwide.
ACCESS Deliver outreach health programs in workplaces and communities in
order to reach the women that need it most. Increase national usage of
MCWH’s multilingual health information and resources.
EDUCATION Increase the use of bilingual/bicultural health educators who can
serve as a link between the health system and immigrant and refugee women.
Employing additional bilingual health educators in language areas of increased
demand and new and emerging languages.
RESEARCH
Conduct comprehensive research on a national level about
immigrant and refugee women’s health status to identify needs and to better
target policies and programs. A national needs-analysis will link existing
services and identify gaps. Gender and ethnic-specific data are lacking in the
evidence base.
FUNDING
Provide funding to coordinate services nationally to increase
information sharing, improve cost-effectiveness of programs and build the
Suite 207, Level 2, 134 Cambridge Street, Collingwood Victoria 3066 Tel: 03 9418 0999 Fax: 03 9417 7877
Awarded for Excellence in Service Delivery to the Multicultural Community in Victoria
capacity to deliver a high quality of health promotion. Conduct a national audit
of existing multilingual health information.
Justina Korpoi Nelson, a refugee from Sierra Leone, said that for women from her own
community; ‘There are so many problems—health, housing, finding a job,
depression—it’s about knowing where to go for help and being exposed to the right
information before things get worse.’
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact
MCWH spokesperson Dr Adele Murdolo: 0438 823 299 or Anaya Latter, Media:
0432 121 636
NEWS 
