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Associate Professor Fred Hollows AC

The prestigious Australian Human Rights Medal was awarded to Professor Fred Hollows AC who pioneered a program aimed at reducing the incidence of trachoma-caused blindness among Australia's Aborigi

Conferences and awards Award nominee

About this winner

  • Year: 1990
  • Level: Winner
  • Award category: Human rights medal

About the 1990 nomination

The prestigious Australian Human Rights Medal was awarded to Professor Fred Hollows AC who pioneered a program aimed at reducing the incidence of trachoma-caused blindness among Australia's Aboriginal people. Professor Hollows has worked at all levels in promoting Aboriginal health as a public issue and helped establish Aboriginal-managed health services in rural and urban Australia. He has also trained Eritrean doctors in less than a year to perform cataract surgery, providing a model for the surgical prevention of blindness in the rest of Africa. Professor Hollows was subsequently named Australian of the Year for 1990.

About the Human Rights Awards

The Australian Human Rights Awards is an inspirational showcase of the best in all of us. The Awards honour and celebrate diverse human rights heroes and significant achievements in protecting and promoting human rights in Australia.

Learn more about the Human Rights Awards.

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