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Gregory Edie Halle-Ekane

GFMER Coordinator for Cameroon

Gregory Edie Halle-Ekane

Dr. Gregory Edie Halle-Ekane, MD, Obstetrician/Gynecologist
Senior Consultant Obstetrician/Gynecologist, Hôpital Général de Douala, Cameroon
Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea, Cameroon
Email: hallegregory@yahoo.fr

Dr. Gregory Edie Halle-Ekane graduated from the University of Jos- Nigeria in 1985, obtained a specialist certificate in obstetrics and gynecology from the University of Yaoundé - Cameroon in 1994 and a postgraduate diploma in reproductive health from the University of Geneva in 1995. He subsequently trained in gynecologic laparoscopic surgery in the University of Geneva in 2002. He is a lecturer at the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Buea - Cameroon and senior consultant in department of obstetrics and gynecology in the Reference Hospital of Douala, a referral centre which serves the Central Africa sub-region. He is a researcher in sexual and reproductive health with experience in the management of STIs, gynecological cancer screening and management, teenage pregnancy, prevention of maternal to child transmission of HIV, pregnancy related complications like hypertension and caesarian deliveries.

Dr. Halle-Ekane has seventeen years of experience as an obstetrician and gynecologist and has worked as general practitioner and specialist in both the private and public sectors with different posts of responsibilities. He has been teaching in the University of Buea for the past four years but has always assisted in teaching of some medical and paramedical personnel from the Universities of Yaoundé and Douala in Cameroon and Universities of Geneva and Lausanne in Switzerland. He is a lecturer in embryology, reproductive physiology, obstetrics and gynecology at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Buea.

Dr. Halle-Ekane has been working as an obstetrician and gynecologist at the Reference Hospital of Douala, Cameroon for 12 years. He is also a member of the National Medical Council of Nigeria, the National Medical Council of Cameroon, Cameroon Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (SOGOC), the Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research (GFMER) and associate member in other societies.

Publications

  • Tebeu PM, Halle G, Lemogoum D, Simo Wambo AG, Kengne Fosso G, Fomulu JN. Risk factors for eclampsia among patients with pregnancy-related hypertension at Maroua Regional Hospital, Cameroon. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2012 Sep;118(3):254–6.
  • Tchente NC, Halle-Ekane G, Egbe OT, Tsingaing JJ, Nana NT, Belley Priso E. L’insuffisance ovarienne précoce: review de la littérature a partir de 4 cas cliniques observes a l’Hôpital Général de Douala, Cameroun. Revue de Médecine et de Pharmacie. 2011;00:37–41.
  • Tebeu PM, Mboudou E, Halle G, Kongnyuy E, Nkwabong E, Fomulu JN. Risk factors of delivery by caesarean section in cameroon (2003-2004): a regional hospital report. ISRN Obstet Gynecol. 2011;2011791319. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3216360/
  • Tsingaing KJ, Egbe OT, Halle-Ekane G, Tchente Nguefack C, Nana Njamen T, Imandy G, Fanne M, Barla ME, Mvele ED, Belley Priso E. Prévalence du VIH chez la Femme Enceinte et Transmission Mere-Enfant du VIH a la Maternité de Hôpital Général de Douala, Cameroun. Clin Mother Child Health. 2011;8.
  • Tebeu PM, Kemfang JD, Sandjong DI, Kongnyuy E, Halle G, Doh AS. Geographic Distribution of Childbirth among Adolescents in Cameroon from 2003 to 2005. Obstet Gynecol Int. 2010;2010. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2926687/
  • Egbe TO, Halle-Ekane G, Behiya G, Tsingaing JK, Belley Priso E, Nyemb JE. Importance of prenatal diagnosis in the effective management of hydrocephalic foetus: A case report in the Douala General Hospital, Cameroon. Clin Mother Child Health. 2010;7(1): 1233–8.
  • Robyr R, Nazeer S, Vassilakos P, Matute JC, Sando Z, Halle G, Mbakop A, Campana A. Feasibility of cytology-based cervical cancer screening in rural Cameroon. Acta Cytol. 2002 Dec;46(6):1110–6.
  • Leke RIJ, Halle-Ekane G, Tonye R. Efficacité et tolerance Bactox dans les syndromes infectieux abdomino-pelvien à la Maternité Principale – Yaoundé. Medicine digest. 1992; 13(4).

Cameroon´s situation of sexual reproductive health

Cameroon is situated in the Golf of Guinea, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the south to Lake Tchad in the north. It lies between the 2nd and 13th Latitudes and the 9th and 16th Longitudes. Cameroon has a surface area of 475 442 square kilometers that spans the equatorial dense forest in the South and the arid region in the North. It has an estimated population of 20 million inhabitants. It became independent in 1960 after being colonized by France and Britain after the Second World War. English and French are the official languages but there is much socio-cultural diversity marked by the existence of more than 200 dialects. The health care system is organized in a pyramidal form with the existence of basic health centers in both urban and rural areas and specialist hospitals that are located mainly in the regional head quarters. Sexual Reproductive health is an integral part of the health care system at all levels of in Cameroon.

Sexual reproductive health projects are sponsored mainly by the state but it also receives a lot of assistance for multinational organizations like:

  • World Health Organisation (WHO)
  • United Nations Development programme (UNDP)
  • World Bank
  • United Nations International Children's Educational Fund (UNICEF)
  • United States of America, Agency for International Development (USAID)
  • Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Reproductive Health (JHPIEGO)
  • German Technical Assistance (GTI)
  • International Training in Health (INTRAH)
  • Family Health International (FHI)
  • United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
  • The Program for Appropriate technology in Health (PATH)
  • International Children's Center (ICC)

Some indicators of the reproductive health situation in Cameroon (DHS 2011)

Demographic Health Survey, Cameroon, 2011
Topic Indicator Value
Contraception Contraceptive prevalence rate (current use) 23%
Total fertility rate 5.1
Antenatal Care ANC by qualified personnel 85%
Received antitetanus vaccine 73%
Assistance during delivery Delivery by skilled personnel 64%
Place of delivery Delivery in health facility 61%
Exclusive breast feeding 0-5months 20%
Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000) Maternal mortality ratio 690
Infant mortality (per 1,000) Neonatal mortality rate 31
Post neonatal mortality rate 31
Infant mortality rate 62
Under-5 mortality rate 122

GFMER activities in Cameroon

The co-operation between the Swiss and Cameroon governments permitted conventions to be signed between certain Cantons in Switzerland and Divisions in Cameroon to improve on the health care system in Cameroon. At the level of the Universities, many postgraduate students from the University of Yaoundé benefited from Swiss scholarships which offered them an opportunity to do part of the specialist training in the Universities of Geneva and Lausanne. In the domain of obstetrics and gynecology, the collaboration has been crowned by the fact that since 1992 some resident doctors from the department of obstetrics and gynecology from University of Yaoundé, Cameroon obtained a postgraduate diploma in reproductive health after completing the course in Geneva. A similar course was organized in the Department of obstetrics and gynecology, University of Yaoundé, in 2004 and 2007 under the auspices of the Ministries of Health and Higher Education. The contribution most of these doctors have made in the domain of sexual reproductive health at the local and national level has been immense. These doctors have established a network which permits them to discuss, develop research projects and intervene to solve some pressing issues in the domain of the sexual reproductive health.

Projects

  • Vulgarize GFMER activities in Cameroon and abroad.
  • Creation of more awareness among GFMER members on the importance of strong collaboration in order to tackle issues in sexual reproductive health in Cameroon.
  • Organization of training seminars for medical and paramedical personnel on the role of Evidence based medicine in the management of conditions like pre-eclampsia and eclampsia and post partum hemorrhage.
  • Encourage training of medical personnel by participating in programmes organized by GFMER.

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