Professor Obehi Aituaje Akoria is a results-driven geriatrician, clinical pharmacologist, public health expert and healthcare leader with extensive experience coordinating health and allied workforce. She is versatile in clinical practice, research, and in teaching various internal medicine, geriatric medicine and public health subjects.
In her recent role as the Honourable Commissioner for Health in Edo State, she took charge of policy formulation, healthcare regulation, health promotion, health protection, disease prevention, surveillance and outbreak response, amongst other responsibilities.
As Deputy Chairman (Clinical Services) of the Medical Advisory Committee in the over 850-bed University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH, she mobilized funds and volunteers to provide free medical outreaches to thousands of older persons, and for the installation of ageing friendly fixtures in the hospital in furtherance of one of her initiatives, the Elder Friendly Hospitals Initiative (ELDFRHI) which was launched by the former Honourable Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire in March 2020.
She leads the multidisciplinary geriatrics team that provides specialized, person-centred inpatient/outpatient services to the elderly in UBTH, and with whom, alongside scores of enthusiastic volunteers, she has reached several thousands of older persons in different parts of Edo State with free health promotion, health literacy education, screening and treatment programmes.
Professor Akoria convened the International Training of Trainers in Geriatrics (9 – 23 March 2020) and the National Training Programme in Geriatrics for Healthcare Providers (28 January – 8 February 2019), both of which held in UBTH. She has facilitated other education programmes in Geriatrics for multidisciplinary healthcare professionals.
