By Brenda Asugu
Nairobi, Kenya – June 19, 2025
Dr. Jyotee Trivedy, a renowned ophthalmologist with over two decades of clinical and surgical experience, has been recognized with Kenya’s highest civilian honor the Order of the Grand Warrior (OGW) for her groundbreaking work in eliminating preventable blindness across East Africa.
Awarded during Kenya’s Independence Day celebrations on December 12, 2023, the OGW highlights Dr. Trivedy’s unwavering dedication to public health, surgical excellence, and humanitarian service. Her contributions have made an enduring impact on communities often overlooked by mainstream healthcare systems.
Dr. Trivedy currently serves as the Medical Director at Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, where she oversees operations across 18 branches in Africa. Under her leadership, the hospital has expanded access to world-class ophthalmic care in both urban and remote regions.
Trained in India and Kenya, Dr. Trivedy holds an M.Med in Ophthalmology from the University of Nairobi and a Fellowship from the East African College of Ophthalmology. Over her career, she has performed more than 65,000 cataract surgeries, 2,700 corneal transplants, and 4,500 glaucoma surgeries, with nearly half offered free to underserved patients.
Her mission to end avoidable blindness extends well beyond Kenya. In 2015, Dr. Trivedy led a landmark campaign in the Seychelles, where she performed 283 cataract surgeries in just three days, helping the island nation become the first in the world to be declared cataract free. For this, she was honored by the President of Seychelles and dubbed an “Angel for the Vision Impaired.”
She has also played a vital role in capacity-building across the continent, training over 60 clinical officers and 34 ophthalmologists from countries such as Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, and Mozambique. Her international training initiatives, carried out in collaboration with Irish NGO Right to Sight, focus on equipping practitioners with critical surgical skills like Small Incision Manual Cataract Surgery (SICS).
In addition to surgery and training, Dr. Trivedy is a committed researcher and educator. She has published nine academic papers, presented at international conferences, and serves as visiting faculty at the Kenya Medical Training College. She also established East Africa’s first LASIK unit at Lions SightFirst Eye Hospital and has since conducted over 300 LASIK and 15,000 corneal crosslinking procedures.
Her work in outreach is equally profound screening 500 patients weekly and organizing more than 100 eye camps across Kenya, where hundreds are treated per session. Her community driven initiatives have brought hope to those in areas where eye care was previously inaccessible.
Outside the operating theatre, Dr. Trivedy is a marathon runner and mountaineer, having completed 23 marathons and summited Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, and Everest Base Camp—often to raise awareness and funds for blindness eradication.
Driven by her belief that “quality healthcare is a right, not a privilege,” Dr. Trivedy continues to exemplify service above self. With her recent Executive MBA in Healthcare Leadership from Italy’s University of Guglielmo Marconi, she is poised to bring even greater innovation and strategic vision to public health across Africa.
Her life’s work stands as a beacon of what’s possible when medical expertise meets purpose, compassion, and a relentless commitment to equity.
As Kenya and the global health community celebrate her achievements, Dr. Jyotee Trivedy remains a powerful symbol of hope, resilience, and visionary leadership in the fight against preventable blindness.