Born: 28 June 1907, Haiti
Died: 3 October 1989
Country most active: Haiti
Also known as: NA
Dr Yvonne Sylvain was the first female doctor from Haiti and the first woman accepted into the University of Haiti Medical School, earning her medical degree in 1940. After graduation, she specialised in obstetrics and gynecology at Port-au-Prince General Hospital. She played a vital role in providing improved medical access and tools for Haitian citizens and was a leading advocate for the physical, economical, social and political equality of Haitian women.
Dr Sylvain inspired other Haitian women to follow her steps – by 1953, eight other Haitian women had already earned their doctor of medicine degree from the University of Haiti and begun practicing in Haiti. At that time, the university had 241 medical students enrolled, including 17 women. In addition to her work at the hospital, Dr Sylvain also became a professor of medicine at the university, published many articles in medical journals and continued to research about lethal health issues in Haiti.
She later became the Vice-President of the Haitian Foundation for Health and Education, a role she held until her death. Concerned about Haiti’s poor means of cancer treatment, Dr Sylvain was adamant about investing in X-rays and other diagnostic equipment to diagnose cancer. She was a part of the Haitian League Against Cancer and helped introduce the papanicolaou test for uterine cancer screening. She created a committee to help raise funds for a hospital she wanted to build in Frères to provide medical access to a community of over 100,000 people.
With her organization improving Haitian hospitals, she began working as a delegate in public health, particularly for reproductive health and research for the World Health Organization (WHO). She also brought her medical knowledge to several African countries such as Nigeria and Senegal and worked as a doctor in Costa Rica.
She was also an artist who actively promoted Haitian culture through her art, working extensively in painting, writing, art criticism, theater and even radio animation. By 1932, she had exhibited dozens of oil paintings and drawings, but the helplessness she felt around her mother’s death inspired hr lifelong deidcation to medicine. She was also active in the women’s suffrage movement, specifically the Ligue Féminine d’Action Sociale, which helped gain Haitian women the right to vote in 1950.