The Fred Hollows Foundation has recognised Papua New Guinean ophthalmologist Dr Jambi Garap as the inaugural recipient of the Gabi Hollows Award for Women Advancing Global Health and Development.
The award recognises exceptional women progressing health equity and leadership and comes as The Foundation shines a light on the impact of avoidable blindness among women and girls in the Pacific at the Women Deliver conference in Melbourne from 27–30 April.
Named in honour of Gabi Hollows AO — orthoptist, humanitarian, and co-founder of The Fred Hollows Foundation — the award reflects Gabi’s lifelong commitment to equity, locally led solutions, and women’s leadership in health.
Since qualifying as an ophthalmologist in the late 1990s, Dr Garap has played a central role in building and coordinating eye health in Papua New Guinea.
She led the development of the National Prevention of Blindness Committee of PNG (PBL), now recognised across the Western Pacific as one of the region’s most effective eye health advocacy and coordination bodies.
The PBL, under Dr Garap’s leadership, successfully advocated for a Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness in 2017, the first survey of its kind in the region, and completed the Global Trachoma Mapping Project in 2015, demonstrating that large-scale eye health research is possible even in one of the most geographically and logistically challenging settings.
Using the trachoma data transformed decision-making, enabling targeted interventions based on population needs. As a result of the survey and Dr Garap’s leadership, The World Health Organization officially validated Papua New Guinea as having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem in May 2025.
Dr Garap has also driven long-term system change, including advocating for the upgrade of the Port Moresby General Hospital Eye Clinic and helping establish a national teaching centre for ophthalmology at the University of Papua New Guinea, where she is an honorary lecturer. She has also supported the development of the PNG Centre for Eye Health in Port Moresby – an eye care training and service centre due to open later this year; and a five-year national eye health plan which will guide the growth and development of eye health in PNG into the future.
“It’s an honour to be the inaugural recipient of the Gabi Hollows Award and I know this will inspire women in health leadership across the Pacific,” Dr Garap said.
“We need more women in health leadership positions so we can overcome the barriers women and girls face in accessing health services.
“Gender equality is at the heart of eye health and it’s vital we continue to push for more women in health leadership positions to make inroads into the barriers women and girls face in accessing eye health care.”
Founding Director Gabi Hollows said, “This award recognises the extraordinary leadership of women like Dr Garap, who are strengthening health care in their communities and creating lasting change.
“When women are supported to lead, we see better outcomes for families and communities. That’s something we’ve believed in from the very beginning.”
The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ’s CEO Dr Audrey Aumua said, “Dr Garap’s leadership shows what gender-equitable eye health looks like in action: locally led, community-centred, and focused on removing the barriers that prevent women and girls from getting care.
“She has been supported and cheered on by ophthalmologists across the Pacific, who will be incredibly proud to see her leadership recognised in this way,” Dr Aumua said.
“Across the Pacific, women face avoidable vision loss because of distance, cost, limited services and systems not designed around their realities. When women can access eye care and lead in health systems – families, communities and nations benefit.”
The announcement forms part of The Foundation’s presence at the Women Deliver conference, where it is sharing its work to strengthen women’s leadership in health and improve access to eye care across the Pacific.
Globally, women make up around 55 per cent of people living with blindness and vision impairment, despite comprising just under half the world’s population. The Foundation believes that when women can see, families and communities thrive.
