Hadassah Australia is honoring Prof. Frank Oberklaid, renowned Child Health Specialist, Professor of Pediatrics, and Founding Director of the Center for Community Child Health at The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, with its 2011 Tikkun Olam (Healing the World) Award.

The award, which will be presented to Prof. Oberklaid at the unit’s annual dinner at the end of August, recognizes individuals in Australia who represent “the finest qualities and traditions of medicine, science, and humanity.” Past recipients include: HE Steve Bracks, former Premier of Victoria, and Prof. David de Krestser, former State Governor.

“We are honored to present the 2011 Award to Prof. Oberklaid for his life-long contribution in the field of community child health,” said Martin Splitter, Executive Director of Hadassah Australia. “He is someone who has made and is still making a tangible difference to the lives of children in Australia and internationally, and he has been instrumental in establishing government policies to benefit children’s health in Australia.”

Prof. Oberklaid is also one of the prime movers of the Goshen Project, a collaborative initiative between the Hadassah University Medical Center and the Royal Children’s Hospital of Melbourne, whose goal is the establishment in Israel of a Comprehensive Community Child Health Training Program, modeled on the one at Royal.