David Durrheim developed a deep desire to help others while growing up in apartheid South Africa.
"There were such stark differences between those who had resources and those who didn't," Dr Durrheim said.
He was brought up in a strict but loving Christian home.
"My father made very plain, through Christ's teachings, that much was to be expected of those given much.
"It was a no-brainer to go into medicine."
He said Nelson Mandela was "a great inspiration for my life."
He long admired Mandela's quote that "there's no passion to be found in playing small - in settling for a life less than the one you're capable of living".
Following this maxim led to him being named a Freeman of the City of Lake Macquarie.
Dr Durrheim was overseas for a family matter when the city council announced the award at a meeting last month.
A formal ceremony will occur on May 21.
He watched the council meeting online while in South Africa.
"It's an incredible and humbling honour. It's something very special," he said.
He thanked the council, along with wife of 40 years Jenny and grown-up children Jonty and Joanne, and the teams he was "privileged to work with locally and internationally".
Lake Macquarie mayor Kay Fraser said Dr Durrheim deserved the honour, having taken on "an immense workload as the public health controller for the district's COVID-19 response".
"With community fear at an all-time high, David's calming and reassuring tone was welcomed by viewers and listeners," Cr Fraser said.
"He was a well-respected voice of reason and expert opinion, and remains a trusted public health physician."
She also noted his role with the World Health Organisation (WHO), "focusing on disease prevention through mosquito control and vaccination programs".
Dr Durrheim said the COVID response was "a huge team effort", including health officials and the community.
It was the "most prolonged crisis" of his 19-year tenure heading Hunter New England's public health unit.
"It was extraordinary," he said.
He added that he felt fortunate for "many opportunities to contribute to global child health".
"That's particularly in the rollout of effective and safe vaccines," he said.
"I also have a wonderful team at the University of Newcastle, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade."
It works to strengthen surveillance for infectious disease threats in Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
"We train colleagues there on how best to use data and equip them to better protect their communities."
He also chairs the Western Pacific Regional Commission for measles and rubella elimination.
And he was the first Australian to serve on the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE), which advises the WHO.
He serves on a number of SAGE expert groups, including one on Ebola virus vaccines.
"I've been blessed with wonderful opportunities to work in Africa, responding to formidable infectious disease outbreaks like cholera and viral haemorrhagic fevers."
He did his public health training in London at St George's Hospital Medical School and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
While neurology initially attracted him, he soon realised he could have a bigger effect through "simple public health measures".
He did postdoctoral training at University of Oxford in the UK and Harvard School of Public Health in the US.
Dr Durrheim said he was "eternally grateful" to Dr Mark Miller, who used CPR to resuscitate him a decade ago.
He suffered a cardiac arrest while jogging in Green Point Reserve. Dr Miller was out walking his dog and responded to the call.
