Doris Macharia, MD
NEW YORK—Eyecare nonprofit Orbis International has appointed Doris Macharia, MD, as the organization's new senior vice president of global programs, effective July 19. In the newly created role, she will lead and grow Orbis's portfolio of in-country programming, including monitoring, evaluation and learning, and quality assurance. She will also join the organization's executive leadership team. "We are thrilled to welcome Doris to Orbis," according to Derek Hodkey, president and chief executive officer of Orbis International.

"She has successfully implemented critical health programs in some of the world's most vulnerable communities. Her expertise will be a tremendous strength for our global teams, the people we treat and train, and the fight against avoidable blindness," Hodkey said.

Orbis runs long-term in-country programs in 14 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. These range from vision centers that provide primary eye care for rural communities to vision screening programs for children to mass administration of antibiotics that fight trachoma, an infectious cause of infectious blindness.

A medical doctor, Dr. Macharia brings to Orbis a diverse wealth of experience in international health and development, having spent 20 years in leadership, management and technical roles. Prior to joining Orbis, she managed HIV prevention, care and treatment programs across nine countries in Africa, and oversaw a portfolio of health and other development programs—including economic strengthening, education and youth development—across 17 countries.

"Having grown up in Kenya and now working to deliver evidence-based, life-changing public health programs, I was attracted to Orbis because of its sustainable approach to tackling avoidable blindness in the areas most affected by the issue," said Dr. Macharia. "I am so pleased to join the Orbis team and to help the organization advance its sight-saving mission."

Dr. Macharia's other notable areas of expertise include HIV programming; reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health; social behavior change communication; tuberculosis; malaria prevention and control; and laboratory strengthening. She is based in Pretoria, South Africa.