Expect to see the joyous faces of Alicia Albanese and her daughter Elise light up Firebrace Street for the months to come.
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The proud Yorta-Yorta woman and her daughter are the first local champions of Goolum Goolum Aborginal Corporation's new 'GOMOB!' campaign, aimed at tackling Indigenous smoking in the region.
The heart-warming image will feature on a billboard in Horsham's retail precinct to portray the strong bond between mother and child and warn against the harmful effects smoking has on the health of both mother and child during and after pregnancy.
"It's great to represent our family, our Mob and the local Indigenous community in such a public way," Ms Albanese said.
"It is a very serious health issue for all community and I think we have portrayed this message in a very positive way."
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The billboard will accompany a digital campaign, with Goolum Goolum working with Aboriginal Health Services to represent health lifestyle activities and enhance health outcomes for members of the Indigenous community.
Goolum Goolum cultural officer and early years worker Tanisha Lovett leant her artistic talent to the campaign.
"It has been an amazing campaign to work on. Initially, four local Indigenous women were chosen to launch this campaign," she said.
"These women are representing stages of pregnancy and parenthood of infants and also toddler aged children. We believe this campaign will be successful and I am already planning the photography of more local Indigenous identities for future health promotion campaigns."
The 'GOMOB!" campaign is part of the ongoing Tackling Indigenous Smoking initiative, aimed at improving life expectancy among Indigenous peoples by reducing tobacco use.
Overall, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are three times more likely to smoke than non-Indigenous Australians.
Among Indigenous Australians, tobacco smoking is responsible for around one in five deaths, and directly responsible for one-third of cancer and cardiovascular disease.
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Since anti-smoking programs became more prevalent, the proportion of Indigenous Australians, aged 15 years or more, who smoke daily has reduced from 4 1 per cent in 2012-13 to 37 per cent in 2018-19.
The Aboriginal-led, and community-focused programs aim to use the experience of local residents and transform community members into champions.
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