Ernestine Gwet Bell

Ernestine Gwet-Bell (born 1953) is a gynaecologist from Cameroon, who supervised the first successful in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment in Cameroon.

Ernestine Gwet Bell
Born1953
Sackbayémé
CitizenshipCameroon
EducationUniversity of Paris 5
OccupationGynaecologist
Notable workEnabling birth of Cameroon's first IVF baby

Early life

Gwet-Bell was born in 1953 in Sackbayémé, in the department of Sanaga Maritime, Cameroon.[1] Her father was initially a Catholic priest, but converted to become a Protestant pastor; her mother was a nurse and midwife.[2] One of six brothers and sisters, she studied medicine at the University of Paris 5.[1]  Her first job was at the Council of Baptist and Evangelical Churches Hospital in Bonabéri, which was affiliated to the church she attended; she also worked at the Laquintinie Hospital.[1]

Career

Gynaecology

In 1987 she opened a private practice, the Odyssey Clinic, in Douala, which as of 2020 was one on of Cameroon's most respected gynaecological medical facilities.[1] Alongside five other colleagues she founded Cameroon's first assisted fertility centre: Centre des Techniques de Pointe en Gynécologie-Obstétrique; her co-founders are: Berthe Bollo, Guy Sandjon, Monique Onomo, Nicole Akoung and Christian Pamy.[1] In 2016, the first public IVF centre opened in Yaounde.[3] Gwet-Bell was its director in 2020.[4] In

In 1998, Gwet-Bell supervised the birth of the first Cameroonian child born through in vitro fertilization.[1][5] The baby was called Thommy.[6] In 2004, her team were able to successfully practice Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), an innovative technique designed in 1992 to fight against male sterility in the context of IVF.[7][6] As of August 2007, she a'nd her team were responsible for the birth of 500 babies through in vitro fertilization.[8] She is President of the Inter-African Fertility Study, Research and Application Group, as well as the union of private doctors in Cameroon.[9][6]

In 2019 she chaired the organisational committee of a conference which brought together gynaecologists and neonatal specialist from across Cameroon together.[10]

Autism

One of her nephews has autism and in 2005 she founded Orchidée Home, which is designed to support autistic children and their parents.[1] Two years later, in 2007, she organized the first autism congress in Cameroon.[1]

Selected publications
  • Gwet-Bell, Ernestine; Gwet, Bea B.; Akoung, Nicole; Fiadjoe, Moïse K. (September 2018). "The 5 main challenges faced in infertility care in Cameroon". Global Reproductive Health. 3 (3): e16. doi:10.1097/GRH.0000000000000016. S2CID 201021120.
  • Fiadjoe, Moïase Kwasivi; Bell, Ernestine Gwet; Mayenga, Jean-Marc (January 2013). "Prise en charge chirurgicale de l'infertilité : moyens et spécificités en Afrique sub saharienne" [Surgical management: tools and specificity in Sub-Saharan Africa]. Reproduction Humaine et Hormones (in French). 25 (3/4): 59–63. ProQuest 1346653007.
  • Bell, Ernestine Gwet (January 2013). "Traitement médical de la femme infertile en Afrique" [The medical treatment of infertile women in Africa]. Reproduction Humaine et Hormones (in French). 25 (3/4): 50–58. ProQuest 1346653005.

Personal life

Gwet Bell is married and has two daughters and a son.[1]

References
  1. jeremy, rich (2012), Akyeampong, Emmanuel K; Gates, Henry Louis (eds.), "Gwet-Bell, Ernestine", Dictionary of African Biography, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780195382075.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5, retrieved 2021-01-18
  2. Diarra, Abdoulaye (2012-12-26). "Dr Ernestine Gwet Bell, à l'origine du premier bébé né in vitro de l'Afrique centrale". INFO AFRIQUE (in French). Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  3. Kovacs, Gabor; Brinsden, Peter; DeCherney, Alan (2018-06-14). In-Vitro Fertilization: The Pioneers' History. Cambridge University Press. p. 245. ISBN 978-1-108-42785-2.
  4. "Au Cameroun, une clinique contre l'infertilité et ses stigmates". LEFIGARO (in French). 6 January 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  5. "L'Afrique, continent le plus touché par l'infertilité". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  6. Siewe, Alex (31 January 2005). "Ernestine Gwet-Bell".
  7. NSEUMI LÉA, FLORINE. "Procréation médicalement assistée: Les hommes stériles secourus".
  8. Marion Obam (29 August 2007). "Cameroon: Ernestine Gwet Bell, the mechanics of embryos" . allAfrica . Retrieved on March 13, 2018
  9. "Ernestine Gwet Bell". archive.wikiwix.com. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  10. "Improving health of women and infants : Gynecologists to meet in Douala". www.cameroon-tribune.cm. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
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