Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The UNNO Health Group at the weekend launched its institute in Abuja to boost professional aesthetic medicine training, ensure improved regulation as well as reduce medical tourism outside the country.
Speaking during the launch in Abuja, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of UNNO Health Group, Hilda Titiloye, said the institute was established to provide postgraduate training and build professional standards within the rapidly growing aesthetic medicine industry.
Titiloye explained that the UNNO Health Group had created an ecosystem in the aesthetic medicine and dermatology space through service delivery, manufacturing of medical products and professional education.
“What we are doing today is trying to build a community of beauty professionals that are in the medical space. The institute would cater to aesthetic physicians, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, nurses and dentists practicing aesthetic medicine. We are trying to learn together and foster a culture of continuous professional development,” she explained.
Titiloye noted that the institute would also help create a stronger professional voice capable of advocating laws and structures to sanitise the industry and improve patient safety. She said the initiative would contribute to reducing medical tourism as more Nigerians now access aesthetic procedures locally instead of travelling abroad.
“A lot of the procedures we used to travel for, they come to us for them and our colleagues as well. The beauty and aesthetic industry had become a major source of employment for young Nigerians through vocational and professional opportunities,” she noted.
On her part, a Professor of Medicine in Dermatology, University of Abuja, Perpetua Ibekwe, stressed the need for a dedicated regulatory framework for aesthetic medicine in Nigeria.
Ibekwe said the absence of a specific regulatory board had created overlaps among practitioners with different qualifications and competencies. “What we have right now are different groups with different levels of education in the same industry,” she said.
She explained that while bodies such as the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), health facility regulators and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) play oversight roles, there was still no unified body dedicated to aesthetic medicine.
According to her, a proper regulatory framework would ensure practitioners operate strictly within their areas of competence. She, however, argued that unqualified individuals carrying out procedures beyond their expertise should be treated as engaging in criminal conduct.
A consultant physician and dermatologist, Gboyega Olarinoye, said the “Masters of Beauty” initiative was carefully designed to reflect African realities and definitions of beauty within the aesthetic medicine industry.
According to him, the initiative was created to showcase beauty standards and solutions tailored to African genetic and environmental peculiarities rather than relying solely on Eurocentric models.
“It is good to share ideas with other people in the space, to try and disseminate the knowledge that works for us, not just imbibing the Eurocentric culture or definitions of beauty,” he said.
Olarinoye noted that the aesthetic medicine industry had become a massive global sector with increasing demand for quality services within Nigeria and Africa. “The problem has always been the supply, and the ability to provide quality services similar to what you can get outside,” he said.
He added that strengthening local expertise and research would not only reduce medical tourism but also improve access to quality care and retain resources within the country.
“If we begin to study ourselves and define our own solutions, it’s going to be much more affordable, much cheaper, more accessible and even more successful in our own setting,” he stated.
The dermatologist further described the conference as a platform for promoting science-based aesthetic practice and professional advocacy within Africa.
“This creates advocacy, it’s creating knowledge, and it’s opening the space for quality science-based evidence and evidence-based practice of aesthetic dermatology in Africa,” he added.
Also speaking, Founder of AfroMed International, George Chabtini, said Nigeria’s aesthetic medicine sector had witnessed rapid growth in recent years.
Chabtini, whose company distributes medical aesthetic products across the country, said the number of aesthetic clinics in Nigeria had risen significantly within three years. “When we came, there were maybe 300 or 400 clinics. Today, we are reaching around 1,000 clinics,” he said.
He described the sector as one of the fastest-growing segments of Nigeria’s healthcare industry and predicted further expansion over the next few years. Chabtini also called for stronger regulation and increased public education to protect consumers and promote best practices within the industry.
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