By Abiola Olawale
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Thursday, announced the appointment of Dr. Temitope Ilori as the new Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), marking a milestone as she becomes the first female to hold this position.
The appointment was disclosed in a statement issued by the Head of Public Relations and Protocol in the agency, Toyin Aderibigbe.
Ilori, a former Commissioner of Health in Osun state, takes over from her predecessor, Dr Gambo Aliyu, who was the DG of the agency from June 2019 to February 2024.
The New Diplomat reports that before her appointment, Ilori served as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of Ibadan and as a Consultant Family Physician in the Department of Family Medicine at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
Ilori’s academic background is robust, having obtained her MBBS degree from the University of Ibadan and completing her residency training at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. She distinguished herself as the best graduating Fellow of the Faculty of Family Medicine, West African College of Physicians, in April 2012, earning the prestigious A.O. Senbanjo Prize.
Additionally, she holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science Degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Ibadan.
Her scholarly pursuits extend further as she pursues her PhD at the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, sponsored by the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa.
Ilori’s research interests span across Primary Care, Immunization, Public Health Nutrition, Non-Communicable Diseases, and Women’s and Child’s Health. She has contributed significantly to the scientific community with over 30 publications in peer-reviewed journals.
In addition, Ilori has been actively involved in policy formulation and strategic development over the years. She served as the Commissioner for Health in Osun State, Nigeria, from 2011 to 2014, and as the Chairperson of the Osun State Agency on Control of HIV/AIDS and the Osun State Technical Working Group on Immunization.
