Menopause is a natural stage in a woman’s life, yet conversations around its symptoms, emotional impact and appropriate care are often overlooked. Our Woman Crush Wednesday, Dr Verah Oketch is changing this narrative, as it is an important part of her work in women’s health and healthcare innovation.
A pharmacist, women’s health and menopause wellness expert, and regulatory and pharmacovigilance specialist, her work focuses on menopause stage assessment, symptom evaluation, medication safety, treatment adherence and personalised care planning, with an emphasis on evidence-based and accessible healthcare.
She is the Founder and Managing Director of VerahCare, a health strategy firm operating at the intersection of regulation, clinical care and digital innovation. Through her work, she brings together pharmaceutical expertise, public health evidence and healthcare systems experience to support more informed approaches to women’s health, particularly during life stages that do not always receive the attention they deserve.
Verah is passionate about empowering women with the knowledge and support they need to navigate menopause with confidence and make informed decisions about their health. Through VerahCare, she champions evidence-based, personalised care and leverages telemedicine to connect women with professional guidance and support, extending access to women’s healthcare beyond geographical boundaries.
Her professional journey includes nearly five years at Novo Nordisk, where she led regulatory affairs and pharmacovigilance activities across Middle Africa. She also coordinated product regulatory submissions and lifecycle management across 49 countries. She has also served as a Regulatory Affairs Executive at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), supporting product registrations, regulatory compliance and process improvement.
Her commitment to healthcare is backed by a strong academic foundation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Kenyatta University and a master’s in epidemiology and biostatistics from KEMRI Graduate School. She has also undertaken training on AI: Law, Policy and Governance at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Project Management in Global Health at the University of Washington, and Business Intelligence with Power BI at Strathmore University.
Her journey reflects the value of combining scientific knowledge, professional experience and a genuine commitment to improving healthcare outcomes. This Wednesday, Pride Magazine Nigeria celebrates Dr Verah Oketch for her contributions to women’s health and her efforts to make menopause wellness a more visible and better understood part of the healthcare conversation.