Group introduces new conversation around PMOS and women’s health

Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) is one of the most common hormonal conditions affecting women, often linked to irregular periods, acne, fatigue and fertility concerns.

At Hello Perfect PMOS & Women Summit 2026, described as Africa’s first integrated women’s health summit, medical experts introduced a new way of framing the condition, PMOS, arguing that the old terminology no longer captured the full picture of what women actually experience.

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Health experts note that the shift matters because women living with the condition often present with far more than the classic symptoms long associated with PMOS, and a broader name allows for a fuller, more accurate conversation about their health. Convener of PMOS & Women Summit 2026, and CEO of Hello Perfect, Onyeka Micheal – Ugwu.

The summit, organised by Hello Perfect and owned by Founder and CEO Onyeka
Michael-Ugwu, brought together medical experts, advocates and women from across the community for a wide-ranging conversation on reproductive health, diagnosis, nutrition and the misconceptions that continue to shape how women’s bodies are understood and treated.

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Stephanie Alatsha, Head of Group Operations at Hello Perfect Aesthetic & Laser Clinic and Coordinator of PMOS 2026, welcomed guests, healthcare professionals, advocates, partners and members of the Hello Perfect community, noting that the summit grew out of five years of conversations Hello Perfect has held around PMOS, the symptoms women experience, the questions they carry and the misconceptions they encounter.

Women making affirmations at the Hello Perfect PMOS & Women Summit 2026
Stephanie explained that women’s health “cannot be discussed in silos,” pointing out that a woman may be navigating hormonal concerns alongside fibroids, endometriosis or ovarian cysts, while also dealing with changes in her skin, cycle, weight or emotional wellbeing, often all at once. That reality, she said, is what shaped the summit’s theme: A New Name.

A New Understanding. A New Opportunity.
She described the day as more than a series of medical presentations, but an invitation to view women’s health “with a wider lens” by bringing together medical experts, women with lived experience, advocates and wellness voices.

She appreciated the summit’s speakers and panellists, keynote speaker Dr Akinyemi Olaleye, and the Hello Perfect founder for championing platforms that put women’s health at the centre of public conversation, before inviting attendees to listen, ask questions and share their own experiences throughout the day. Nestlé, the Official Hydration Partner of PMOS 2026.

She also recognised Nestlé as the Official Hydration Partner, whose support contributed to creating an environment centred on women’s health and wellbeing.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr Akinyemi Olaleye reminded attendees that women’s health cannot be reduced to a single diagnosis. He noted that the condition does not disappear, it is managed, not cured and stressed that treatment should be guided by
symptoms rather than a label alone. “If you don’t have symptoms, you don’t need
medication,” he told the audience. “But if there are symptoms and signs, go for a medical check-up.”

The summit’s first panel session The summit’s first panel session brought together specialists to unpack the shift from “PCOS” to “PMOS.”

Dr Rama Akachuku opened the discussion by explaining that the old terminology often failed to capture the full picture of what women were experiencing from irregular periods and severe acne to persistent, unexplained fatigue. Dr Kieva Chris-Amusan added that growing public awareness around the condition is already changing behaviour, pushing more women to ask the right questions: “Should I get checked? What should I be tracking?”

Dr Ayomide Fayinto urged women to first understand what is “normal” for their bodies in order to recognise the abnormality, noting that anxiety and depression are just as many symptoms of the condition as any physical sign. “Your menstruation is like a report card,” she said. “It tells you how your month has been.”

Dr Grace Dunsin-Adebayo emphasised the importance of where women seek help, cautioning against relying on roadside pharmacists and encouraging attendees to present to qualified professionals for accurate diagnosis.

Dr Rama Akachuku speaking on different symptoms of PMOS.
Dr Rama Akachuku returned to explain why the condition doesn’t present the same way in every woman. “The way Mrs A will receive and respond to it is different from Mrs B,” she said, noting that it affects different cells and systems in the body from one woman to the next. On nutrition, Dr Kanalio Olaloku dispelled the idea of a single “PCOS/PMOS diet,” insisting the focus should simply be on eating right. “When we talk about what to eat, we’re talking about what’s available and what’s affordable,” she said, adding that once a diagnosis is confirmed, proper nutrition and exercise become critical.

The panelists for the summit’s first panel session
Closing the first panel, Dr Ogooluwa Ajiboso addressed common myths and misconceptions, pushing back on the idea that the condition is purely a reproductive issue. She also
challenged harmful narratives around women’s weight and appearance, reminding the room that “women are beyond men’s cravings,” and warned against extreme dieting or starvation,
noting that it raises cortisol levels and can worsen symptoms.

Among the guidance shared with attendees, two pieces stood out. Dr Rama Akachuku advised women to keep a written record of their symptoms and to seek their own diagnosis rather than self-medicating based on someone else’s treatment, urging them to be fully
transparent with their doctors about everything they are experiencing. Dr Kanalio Olaloku offered a reminder that resonated across the room: the condition does not determine a woman’s femininity, fertility, or future.

The summit’s second session shifted from clinical discussion to a more intimate fireside conversation, moderated by Oluwadamilola Ladungoye, with guests Seyi Amao, Doris, Esther Uzodinma and Dr Onyii Azode. Rather than a formal interview, the session was framed as a candid, in-the-moment conversation, with guests speaking from both lived and professional experience.

The conversation moved through some of the more personal dimensions of living with the condition from the moment many women first sense that something in their body needs closer attention, to what typically delays them from acting on it, and what the journey toward
an eventual diagnosis tends to look like.

Guests also spoke to the aspects of the condition that are least understood by people who haven’t lived it, and pushed back on the tendency for conversations about conditions like this to centre almost entirely on fertility, calling for more attention to the fuller range of ways it affects women’s lives.

A recurring theme was the role emotional and mental wellbeing plays in how women navigate the condition day to day, alongside the lifestyle changes, routines and support systems guests said have made a genuine difference for the women around them.

The panel also addressed how family, friends and partners can better show up for a woman managing the condition. Guests shared personal reflections on the moments that first signalled something was wrong, what they wished someone had told them earlier in their journey, and closed with direct words of encouragement for any woman in the room quietly struggling with her own diagnosis.

In keeping with the session’s intent, the conversation closed on a note of hope and practical encouragement rather than on the challenges alone.

Closing out the day’s sessions, Hello Perfect Founder and CEO Onyeka Michael-Ugwu took to the stage to explain the clinic’s own stake in the PMOS conversation, delivered as a five-part walkthrough of what she called the “skin side” of the condition.

She opened by noting that women rarely walk into an aesthetic clinic announcing a hormonal or metabolic concern, they come in because of something they can see. Common presentations, she said, include acne, facial hair, pigmentation, skin darkening in certain areas, skin tags and scalp hair thinning, all of which she grouped into two categories: androgen-related manifestations such as acne, hirsutism and female-pattern hair thinning, and metabolic or insulin-resistance-associated signs such as acanthosis nigricans and skin tags.

She also pointed to secondary skin consequences, explaining how a trigger can lead to inflammation, which in turn leads to pigmentation, particularly post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation following acne or repeated hair removal.
Convener of PMOS & Women Summit 2026, and CEO of Hello Perfect, Onyeka Micheal – Ugwu Michael-Ugwu went on to describe what she termed “the treatment paradox” , the reality that successful treatment and recurrence can coexist. Acne can improve, inflammation can settle and pigmentation can fade, she explained, but if the underlying biological driver remains unaddressed, the cycle can begin again.

She noted the same pattern with facial hair: laser treatment can successfully reduce existing hair, but continued hormonal stimulation may still
influence recurrence, new growth and long-term management.

Similarly, she said, new pigmentation can form even as older pigmentation is cleared, if the underlying inflammation from acne or hair removal persists.

This paradox, she said, is why understanding the sequence of care matters in clinical practice
moving from consult, to treat, to observe, to investigate, to understand, and finally to treat with context. “We do not necessarily stop treating the skin,” she said. “We treat it with a different understanding.”

She closed her presentation with a message she described as central to Hello Perfect’s approach: that the skin is a messenger, and understanding is part of the treatment itself. Her four-part framework for care, see the skin, understand the pattern, treat the concern, and empower the woman she said, sums up the philosophy that “we move from hiding the symptoms to understanding the pattern.”

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