Nigerian Family Doctor Leads National AIDS Agency

Dr Temitope Ilori Leads Nigeria’s National AIDS Agency

Family physicians are increasingly taking on leadership roles that shape national health systems, bringing the values of primary care, equity and community-centred medicine into health policy.

One such leader is Dr Temitope Ilori, Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) in Nigeria. A family physician, academic and longstanding member of WONCA and the WONCA Working Party on Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM), Dr Ilori is the first woman to lead the agency.

Since her appointment, she has overseen significant progress in preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, expanding treatment for children, strengthening digital health systems and placing women and families at the centre of Nigeria’s HIV response. Her work demonstrates the important contribution family physicians can make, not only in clinical practice but also through leadership, health policy and public health.

“No child should be born HIV-positive in Nigeria.”

Biography and Work

Dr Temitope Ilori is the Director General of the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) in Nigeria, making history as the first woman to lead the agency. She is a Fellow of the West African College of Physicians and the West African Institute of Public Health, an Associate Fellow of the National Post-Graduate Medical College of Nigeria, and a Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (MNIM).

Dr Ilori is an astute administrator, academic, researcher, and clinician. She served as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ibadan and as a Consultant Family Physician at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, before her appointment. Beyond academia, Dr Ilori has a strong track record in policy formulation and strategic development. She served as the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Osun State, Nigeria, from 2011 to 2014. During this time, she also served as Chairperson of the Osun State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (O-SACA), bringing a multidisciplinary perspective to public health leadership.

Dr Ilori currently serves as co-chair of the AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria (ATM) Nigerian National Technical Working Group and is the chair of the Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Organisation (ALCO), a sub-regional intergovernmental organisation covering five countries.

She holds a Bachelor's and Master of Science degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics, as well as a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degree from Nigeria’s Premier University, University of Ibadan, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) fellowship focused on Family Medicine and Primary Care at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. With over 40 publications in esteemed scientific journals, she demonstrates a strong dedication to research, and her interests align with NACA’s mission, encompassing Primary Care, Immunisation, Public Health Nutrition, Non-Communicable Diseases, and Women’s and Children’s Health.

She has attended several international trainings, amongst which are the Leadership Training for Physicians Executives at the Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA, a Practical Financial Management Certificate Course from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), Liverpool, UK, and a Leadership and Management Training in Health Course at the University of Washington, USA.

Dr Ilori is an excellent team player with desirable leadership qualities who has served as an executive member of various professional bodies such as the World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA), WONCA Working Party on Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM), Nigerian Medical Association, Society of Family Physicians of Nigeria, Medical Women Association of Nigeria and Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria. She is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Care of the Mentally Ill (CAREMI) and a Patron of the Asido Foundation.

WONCA and WWPWFM roles

Her activities within WONCA and the Working Party on Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM) include:

• Member at large Executive, Africa Region, World Organisation of Family Doctors (WONCA), 2018 to 2023.
• African Regional Lead, WONCA Working Party on Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM), 2016 - 2018.
• Vice Chairman, Society for Family Physicians of Nigeria (SOFPON), Oyo State Branch, 2017 - 2022.
• Scientific Lead, WONCA African Region Working Party on Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM), 2022-2023.
• Nigeria Country Lead, WONCA Working Party on Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM), 2012 - 2016.

Accomplishments

Advancing women’s health for people living with HIV

Under the leadership of Dr Temitope Ilori, the National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) has recorded significant progress in advancing women’s health and strengthening maternal and child HIV services in Nigeria. Shortly after assuming office as Director General, she inaugurated the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Paediatric AIDS Acceleration Committee (PPAC), reinforcing national commitment to eliminating vertical transmission of HIV with the guiding vision that “no child should be born HIV-positive in Nigeria.”

Her leadership has driven major improvements across key indicators. PMTCT coverage among pregnant women living with HIV increased to 66%. By comparison, Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) coverage rose to 57%, enabling more HIV-exposed infants to be tested and linked to care early. Paediatric antiretroviral treatment coverage also increased markedly from 29% to 74%, resulting in more than 45,000 additional children accessing life-saving treatment.

Beyond statistics, Dr Ilori has championed integrated, women-centred healthcare systems by linking HIV services with family planning, gender-based violence screening, cervical cancer screening, and broader maternal health platforms. She has also advanced prevention initiatives for adolescent girls and young women through expanded access to PrEP, school-based prevention strategies, and the roll out of Lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable HIV prevention option expected to transform access to prevention for women and girls. Through sustained advocacy, policy leadership, and global engagement, she continues to elevate women’s health as a national priority within Nigeria’s HIV response.

Policies that support women’s health and promote compassionate care

Dr Temitope Ilori has championed policies that place women at the centre of Nigeria’s HIV response, delivered through integrated, accessible, and compassionate healthcare. A key policy direction under her leadership has been to integrate HIV services with broader sexual and reproductive health (SRH) platforms, moving beyond fragmented disease-specific programming towards holistic, women-centred care. This approach has helped reduce stigma, improve service uptake, and ensure that women can access multiple health services conveniently within a single system.

She has also strongly supported eliminating financial barriers to maternal and child HIV services by organising skills-acquisition and financial-empowerment programmes for women living with HIV. These interventions ensure that vulnerable women are not forced to choose between meeting household needs and accessing life-saving healthcare services.

Recognising the vulnerability of adolescent girls and young women to new HIV infections, Dr Ilori has advanced policies promoting comprehensive sexuality education and youth-friendly HIV prevention services. These policies include support for expanded access to HIV testing, PrEP, and accurate reproductive health information for young people. Her leadership within Nigeria’s Health Sector Renewal Initiative and Sector-Wide Approach has also strengthened stakeholder coordination, improved primary healthcare delivery, and reinforced sustainable, community-centred health systems that prioritise compassionate and equitable care for women and girls.

Incorporation of technology to achieve institutional goals

Dr Temitope Ilori has positioned digital innovation at the centre of Nigeria’s HIV response, leveraging technology to strengthen prevention, treatment, monitoring, and accountability across a large and diverse population.

At the core of the HIV National response is an integrated national HIV data ecosystem that combines eNNRIMS, DHIS2, electronic medical records (EMR), and a unified national dashboard. These systems enable real-time monitoring of HIV services across all states and health facilities, significantly reducing reporting delays, eliminating duplicate records, and improving evidence-based decision-making. This digital integration has led to measurable improvements in data reporting.

Nigeria’s HIV commodity supply chain is being strengthened through an electronic logistics management system (eLMIS), enabling real-time tracking of antiretroviral drugs and test kits. This innovation has reduced stock-outs from 35% to under 5%, ensuring uninterrupted treatment and improving patient adherence.

To expand access to care, telemedicine and virtual service delivery models are being scaled up, including WhatsApp-based adherence support, virtual consultations, and tele-pharmacy services. These interventions significantly improve access for rural and hard-to-reach populations.

Community engagement is also strengthened through mobile technologies, including SMS platforms, online HIV self-testing services, and digital counselling. These tools have reduced stigma, increased testing uptake among key populations, and improved linkage to care.

Beyond service delivery, HIV advocacy on digital platforms is being promoted. Dr Ilori’s social media campaigns on Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn have reached thousands of users, combining education, stigma-reduction efforts, and youth engagement. The 2025 World AIDS Day digital campaign alone generated over 32,000 views and 8,000 engagements, demonstrating strong public impact.

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and predictive analytics are being deployed to identify epidemic hotspots and patients at risk of treatment interruption, enabling proactive interventions. GIS mapping further supports targeted resource allocation and optimised service delivery.

Her strategy also emphasises digital literacy, workforce capacity-building, and sustainable system ownership through government-led, locally managed, and interoperable platforms. Cross-cutting priorities include equity, youth engagement, multilingual access, and scalability via cloud-based and modular systems.

Overall, Dr Ilori’s leadership of the National HIV response, supported by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, international donors, and implementing partners, demonstrates how digital transformation can strengthen health systems, improve efficiency, expand access, and enhance patient outcomes. Technology is a key enabler of a more inclusive, responsive, and data-driven HIV response in Nigeria.

Celebrating Impact and Innovation

Dr Temitope Ilori exemplifies the evolving role of family physicians in modern healthcare systems, combining clinical excellence, public health leadership, compassion, and digital innovation to improve lives across communities. Her work continues to inspire women in medicine throughout Africa and globally.

Her career reflects the breadth of modern family medicine, from caring for individual patients to shaping national policy. Through her leadership of Nigeria’s HIV response, she has demonstrated how family physicians can strengthen health systems, champion equity and improve the lives of people and communities.

Submitted by Olajumoke Ibrahim,
Africa Regional Lead,
WONCA Working Party on Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM).