Ernestine Gwet Bell
Cameroonian gynecologist
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Ernestine Gwet-Bell (born 1953) is a Cameroonian gynaecologist who supervised the first successful in vitro fertilisation treatment in her country.
Ernestine Gwet Bell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 (age 72–73) Sackbayémé, Cameroon |
| Citizenship | Cameroon |
| Education | University of Paris 5 |
| Occupation | Gynaecologist |
| Notable work | Enabling birth of Cameroon's first IVF baby |
Early life
Gwet-Bell was born in 1953 in Sackbayémé.[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, Gwet-Bell opened a private practice, the Odyssey Clinic, in Douala, which as of 2020 was one 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 and 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 her sister Marie Mélanie Bell founded Orchidée Home, which is designed to support autistic children and their parents.[1] Two years later, in 2007, she supported her sister in organising 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]