The inaugural recipient of the Gabi Hollows Award for Women Advancing Global Health and Development will be announced at the Women Deliver conference, being held in Melbourne.
The award recognises exceptional women progressing health equity and leadership and comes as The Fred Hollows Foundation shines a light on the impact of avoidable blindness among women and girls in the Pacific at the conference.
The award is named in honour of Gabi Hollows AO – orthoptist, humanitarian, and co-founder of The Fred Hollows Foundation – and reflects her lifelong commitment to equity, locally led solutions, and women’s leadership in health.
Women Deliver: Pacific Pathways
The Foundation’s advocacy at Women Deliver builds on last month’s Pacific Pathways Communique.
The need to address avoidable blindness and vision impairment among women and girls is urgent in the Pacific region, the Foundation said.
In the Highlands region of PNG, for example, more than 11% of women aged over 50 years are blind – one of the highest prevalence rates in the world.
Barriers to accessing care, faced by women in the Pacific include cost of treatment and travel and limited family support.
The Pacific Pathways Communique calls for integration of eye health into primary and community care, strengthening women’s leadership and investing in community-led, gender-responsive solutions.
The award recognises exceptional women progressing health equity and leadership
Women in Health Leadership and Gender Equity
Other key advocacy messages promoted by the Foundation at Women Deliver include the need for stronger investment in health leadership, and gender equity.
A lack of women in health leadership means that globally, women and girls face greater difficulties accessing health care than men, the Foundation said.
Gender is a crucial factor in determining the accessibility of eye care services, with men more likely to receive eye care services than women due to lack of awareness, family income, gender bias, and male dominance in society.
Over 6,500 feminist leaders, activists, and changemakers have gathered for the 2026 Women Deliver conference, which runs until Thursday.
