We respond to the economic impacts of COVID-19, as they relate to inequality for women and gender diverse people.

WHIN is a proud partner in the WOMHEn project (Workforce of Multilingual Health Educators), an initiative of the Victorian government’s Working for Victoria program. With Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH), Gender Equity Victoria and other women’s health services, WHIN has employed migrant and refugee women to form a rapid response health workforce.

WHIN’s trained health educators have delivered COVID-19 information to migrant and refugee women in their languages in Melbourne’s northern metropolitan region. They have conducted workshops about COVID-19, sexual and reproductive health, mental health, nutrition and physical activity. The team have developed resources for more effective, faster, and respectful engagement using information collected in the sessions.

COVID-19 has severely impacted migrant and refugee women and their communities. These women have expertise and insight, their experiences and understanding of their community must shape the way we educate and respond to health issues and crisis.

Our multilingual health educators are trained as COVID-19 Vaccination Program Ambassadors. They deliver the latest information about COVID-19 and the vaccination program in simple, easy to understand in-language sessions.

Funded through the Victorian Department of Health, WHIN staff address frequently asked questions about COVID-19 vaccines to help address vaccine hesitancy. Our health educators delivered workshops and social media information in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Tamil, Arabic, Greek, Macedonian and Marathi as well as English.