Martha Saboyá is the Senior Advisor for the Communicable Diseases Elimination Initiative at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Washington, D.C., a role she has held since October 2023. Prior to this, she served as PAHO’s Neglected Infectious Diseases Advisor and Specialist from 2010 to September 2023 and spent five years at PAHO’s Colombia office, providing technical cooperation on disease control and elimination. Dr. Saboyá holds a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from the University Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca (Colombia), a Master of Science in Public Health from the National University of Colombia, and a Doctorate of Public Health from the National Institute of Public Health of Mexico.

Before joining PAHO, Dr. Saboyá worked with Colombia's Ministry of Health and National Institute of Health, focusing on communicable disease surveillance, control, and elimination. She also dedicated five years to public health programs along the Colombia-Venezuela border, working on preventing, controlling, and eliminating communicable diseases in indigenous and remote communities. Her career has been marked by a strong focus on addressing health inequities and improving health outcomes for vulnerable populations.