In this episode, we sit down with Vicki Wade, First Nations Heart Health Lead with the Heart Foundation, and Associate Professor Glenn Pearson, Director First Nations Strategy and Leadership at the Telethon Kids Institute, to discuss the disproportionate impact of Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Australia.

This episode was recorded on the 5th of September 2023, in the leadup to a key historical moment in Australia. On Saturday, 14 October 2023, Australians will have their say in a referendum about whether to change the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. This is an invitation from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People for us all to listen, so that we can work together to address difficult but solvable problems like RHD.

The team behind the Heart of the Matter are strongly in support of saying 'Yes' to an Indigenous voice, and we invite you to listen to this podcast to learn more about why this is such an important moment in Australian history.

Join with us to learn more about:

• the heart in Noongar culture (Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia).
• the devastating impact of RHD (an entirely preventable disease) on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Australia.
• the amazing work by Vicki and Glenn in trying to treat and eliminate RHD, through initiatives such as the Take Heart film series and Champions for Change.
• what our listeners can do to help.

For more information on the topics covered in this episode, please see the links below (or visit the main podcast page here https://tinyurl.com/mtt9cstc):

• ⁠Take Heart Film and Videos ⁠
• ⁠The Voice ⁠to Parliament ⁠
• ⁠Uluru Statement from the Heart⁠
• ⁠Champions4Change⁠
• ⁠End Rhematic Heart Disease Centre of Research Excellence (Telethon Kids Institute) ⁠
• ⁠Deadly heart trek⁠
• ⁠Closing the Gap⁠
• ⁠APY lands⁠
• ⁠Utopia⁠ (Aboriginal Australian homeland area in the Northern Territory).
• ⁠Report⁠ into preventable deaths from RHD at Domadgee Hospital.