March 2023
PCV Health (Presbyterian Church of Vanuatu Health Ministry) are excited to announce the expansion of their Port Vila-based Gudfala Tut Paste production, to establish a retail offering of this Made in Vanuatu product.
Due to feedback and increasing demand, the Gudfala Tut Paste will initially be available for sale through schools, kindies and pre-schools, thereafter expanding to the broader retail, tourist and export markets.
To quote program director Mr Richard Tatwin … “It is Vanuatu toothpaste to make the WORLD smile.”
Gudfala Tut Paste uses a unique coconut-oil-based formulation specifically developed by program partner DentaLife Australia for use in the Gudfala Tut Skul brushing program; run in conjunction with the Ministry of Health. Designed to appeal to the tastes of young children, this pink, bubblegum flavoured toothpaste obtains its vital coconut oil ingredient from the ACTIV Association.
Income generated from the sales of Gudfala Tut Paste will be support and expand, the Gudfala Tut Skul daily, supervised brushing program.
BACKGROUND
Gudfala Tut Paste has been manufactured in Port Vila since 2018. It uses a unique coconut-oil-based formulation, specifically developed for use in the daily supervised brushing program of the same name.
The Gudfala Tut Skul Program, operated in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Medical Sailing Ministries Inc., now directly involves 4,000 children at 72 kindies and schools, mostly targeting the urban areas of Port Vila and Luganville; where the 2017 National Oral health Survey, revealed tooth decay and gum disease to be most severe. In response to demand from students, parents and teachers alike, PCV Health – the manufacturers of the Gudfala Tut Paste – are now expanding production to make it available to everyone.
“It looks good, it tastes good and it does good. And the children absolutely love the bubblegum flavour and pink colour. Being tasty toothpaste, means the children look forward to brushing; which is half the battle.”, says dental worker Ms Morinda Kalmar. Who, along with Mr Bob Natuman, have been involved with the PCV Health’s Dentalcare Program since it started in 2012.
“With this new development, instead of packaging the Gudfala Tut Paste in large 500ml containers – which we use in the schools and kindies – we will use smaller 125ml bottles. Plus, we will offer a Mint flavour as well; mostly for the older children and grown-ups”, says Bob Natuman.
According to the “Global oral health status report1”, released recently by the World Health Organization, “Oral diseases, while largely preventable, pose a major health burden for many countries and affect people throughout their lifetime, causing pain, discomfort, disfigurement and even death, affecting nearly 3.5 billion people.”
Many factors contribute to poor oral health, most of which are within our capacity to change, including high sugar consumption, tobacco and alcohol use, plus poor hygiene, which includes daily brushing morning and night with fluoride toothpaste.
As the saying goes … “Prevention is better than cure” … which is why the Gudfala Tut Paste is now being made available more broadly. Because, as the 2017 National Vanuatu Oral Health Survey revealed, around:
- 70% of Ni-Vanuatu children currently have tooth decay and bleeding gums,
- 40% of people rarely, or never brush their teeth
- 10% of children have had tooth decay in the past 30 days, and
- Poor oral health is more than twice as bad in the urban areas [where access to sugary treats is greatest] than in the rural and remote regions
PCV Health and Medical Sailing Ministries Inc. would like
to thank the Department of Industry for their invaluable
assistance and look forward to working with them in the
future on this exciting program.
For more information, visit www.msm.org.au/gudfala-tut or contact program director, Richard Tatwin.
The survey ”FACT SHEET” can be found HERE