Australia’s largest Aboriginal community in Yarrabah has joined forces with Australian natural skin care brand MooGoo to try and stamp out largely preventable Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) with its MooGoo Prevent RHD Project.

RHD is a devastating, but preventable, condition that often starts with skin sores that get infected. It is considered a third-world disease yet Australia has some of the highest rates in the world, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 15 times more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than other Australians.

Complications from RHD are common and include atrial fibrillation, endocarditis, heart failure, stroke and lead to damage so severe that the child needs open heart surgery. 

Tragically, children aged between 5 to 15 years are 55 times more likely to die from RHD. 

Yarrabah, a discreet Aboriginal community of approximately 4000 people in 414 living facilities 55 kilometres east of Cairns in Far North Queensland, has higher rates of RHD – more than 129 people with it – due to difficult living conditions which can be cramped, with limited access to safe water and sanitary conditions.

RHD is not a genetic disease. It is a disease of poverty and disadvantage, caused primarily by overcrowding and unhealthy housing. With more than 4000 residents crammed into a little over 400 houses, overcrowding is a massive issue in Yarrabah.

A lack of basic plumbing in many houses is also contributing to the RHD issue. This partnership with MooGoo is assisting the Yarrabah community battle skin sores that can lead to RHD.

One way to prevent the disease is by promoting good hygiene, and Australian natural skin care brand MooGoo has just donated a year's worth of its body wash for every household in Yarrabah so they can use it to wash their hands, body and face. 

In collaboration with the local health service, refill stations of the Milk Wash are now easily accessible in community hubs, schools and sports clubs in the area and is setting up an option for customers to donate by adding $5 to their Shopping Cart, all of which will go back into this program.

MooGoo CEO Melody Livingstone says, “It’s really disturbing to discover that in Australia people in remote communities were having trouble accessing basic essentials like soap. 

“It was shocking not only to me, but the entire management team and we wanted to do something about it and look for a solution.

“We're hoping that through this programme, we see a reduction in rheumatic heart disease cases in these communities and that these statistics can be used to put in place a more permanent solution.”

Maddy Dodd, child health team leader Gurriny Yealamucka Health Services Aboriginal Corporation, says: “We know that skin sores are common in Yarrabah. 

“If we can prevent the infection from occurring at the beginning, and prevent the skin sores, we can help reduce the devastating effects of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in our communities.”

Suzanne Andrews, from the Jaru, Punaba and Bunal Bardi peoples of Western Australia’s North Kimberley region and CEO of Gurriny Yealamucka Health Services Yarrabah also welcomes the collaboration. 

“This is all about making sure that we have good sanitising soaps and it’s awesome we've got special sites that we can start to dispense to the mob in Yarrabah to help prevent skin sores,” Andrews says.

“Because the Milk Wash is made with gentle, natural cleansers it won’t irritate the skin, so it's good for skin sores.”

Renee Grosso, ​​Public Health Coordinator at Gurriny Yealamucka Health Services Aboriginal Corporation, says, “MooGoo’s meaningful collaboration with the local organisation/s or people in an Aboriginal Community, is a great way of demonstrating genuine commitment and desire to work with our First Nations people in a meaningful way. 

“It also demonstrates MooGoo is not ‘doing’ something to the community but actually working ‘with’ them, in a way that actually meets the needs identified by the community themselves.” 

There’s a video with more information here and MooGoo Refill Sites in Yarrabah are at:         

• Gurriny- Bukkie Rd (Health Service)
• Gurriny- Workshop Rd (Health Service)
• The Men's Shed 
• Yarrie Bakery
• Yarrabah Library 
• Yarrabah Housing Department 
• Yarrabah Childcare
• Yarrabah Kindergarten
• Yarrabah Primary School
• Yarrabah High School
• St Albans Church
• Ranger Station
• Council Works Department 
• PCYC
• Mutkin (Aged Care)
• Gindaja (Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation)
• Seahawks Football Club

For more information visit moogoo.com.au and its https://moogoo.com.au/take-heart-project