Dr Dominic Edwards has been awarded the Australian Medical Association's 2025 Women's Health Award for his outstanding service in advancing and prioritising women's healthcare.
AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said Dr Edwards was recognised for his exceptional contributions to improving women's health, both in Australia and globally.
"Dr Edwards has shown an unwavering commitment to women's health," Dr McMullen said.
"His work in Uganda and Cambodia has changed the lives of countless vulnerable women, leaving a legacy of compassion, expertise, and advocacy.
"Dr Edwards exemplifies the values of this award — compassion, advocacy, and excellence. He empowers marginalised women, educates clinicians, and drives systemic improvement locally and internationally. His work has improved health outcomes across communities, and inspired his peers."
In Uganda, Dr Edwards volunteered with Kagando Mission Hospital, where he was one of only two doctors managing more than 60 maternity patients a day in a 30-bed ward. He provided care in an extremely resource-constrained environment, where high maternal and neonatal mortality persists due to systemic underfunding, cultural barriers, and infectious disease burden. He also conducted education sessions on Ebola and malnutrition for mothers, facilitated monthly support groups for women and children living with HIV, and led prison health clinics for incarcerated women.
In Cambodia, Dr Edwards worked alongside Professors Judith Goh AO and Hannah Krause AO at the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh for a surgery camp focussed on Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) and pelvic organ prolapse.
He is currently an Obstetrics and Gynaecology Principal House Officer at the Mater Mothers' Hospital in Brisbane, where he served as Chief Obstetrics and Gynaecology Resident, led multiple quality improvement projects targeting preterm birth prevention and menstrual health, and mentored medical students and junior doctors. He also contributed to Queensland Clinical Guidelines on menstrual management and pelvic pain, and his research on stillbirth bereavement care informs national policy discussions.
Dr Edwards said he was grateful to receive the award.
"Providing care and education for women affected by fistula and pelvic floor trauma in resource-limited settings has been one of the most formative parts of my career so far," Dr Edwards said.
"I've seen firsthand how restoring dignity through such interventions can change a woman's life. It's why I'm committed to continuing this work.
"In receiving this award, I hope to be able to use it to highlight the local and global inequities in access to safe, respectful maternity and gynaecological care."
