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Professor Tony Adams, Australia’s longest-serving chief medical officer (1988-1997), is described as a hero and pioneer of public health by those who knew him. One of his dreams was to see polio abolished from this world.

Adams passed away last month, after an extraordinary career in which he played a leading role in Australia’s response to the HIV/AIDS crisis and oversaw the closing of Sydney’s infamous Quarantine Station.

He also served as the chair of the World Health Organisation body responsible for certifying the eradication of polio through the mobilisation of a global vaccination ca

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