Dr. Bienvenu Ahouansou

Dr. Bienvenu Ahouansou is a consultant endocrinologist and diabetologist at the Centre National Hospitalier et Universitaire Hubert Koutoukou Maga (CNHU-HKM) in Cotonou — Benin's foremost public teaching hospital and the primary tertiary referral centre for the country. With 15 years of specialist practice, Dr. Ahouansou is one of the very few board-certified endocrinologists in Benin, placing him at the centre of a critical specialty in a country where the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and thyroid disorders is rising rapidly.

Benin, like many West African nations, is experiencing an escalating epidemic of non-communicable diseases driven by urbanisation, dietary change, and population ageing. Diabetes prevalence has roughly doubled over the past two decades, and access to specialist endocrinology care remains severely limited outside Cotonou. Dr. Ahouansou manages a large and complex patient panel from across the country, including patients with advanced diabetic complications — nephropathy, retinopathy, neuropathy, and diabetic foot disease — who have often presented late due to delayed access to specialist diagnosis and insulin therapy.

Thyroid disorders are also highly prevalent in Benin, where iodine deficiency historically caused endemic goitre in the interior regions. Dr. Ahouansou manages multinodular goitre, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism (including Graves' disease), and thyroid nodules requiring cytological evaluation.

He teaches endocrinology to medical students and residents at the Faculté des Sciences de la Santé, Université d'Abomey-Calavi, and is a member of the Société Francophone du Diabète.

Dr. Ahouansou completed his medical degree (Docteur en Médecine) at the Faculté des Sciences de la Santé, Université d'Abomey-Calavi in Cotonou. He undertook his Diplôme d'Études Spécialisées (DES) in Endocrinology-Diabetology through a specialist residency at CNHU-HKM and completed additional training at the CHU Yopougon in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire and at a French university hospital in Bordeaux, gaining exposure to advanced thyroid disease management and insulin pump therapy. He holds a Diplôme Inter-Universitaire (DIU) in Diabetology from the Société Francophone du Diabète network. He maintains membership in the Société Francophone du Diabète and participates in its continuing medical education programmes.

Dr. Ahouansou's endocrinology practice covers the full spectrum of diabetes and metabolic disease. He initiates and optimises insulin regimens for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, including basal-bolus protocols and premixed insulins. He manages diabetic complications — nephropathy (coordinating with nephrology), retinopathy (with ophthalmology), neuropathy, and diabetic foot disease (applying wound care protocols and working with vascular surgeons). He interprets oral glucose tolerance tests and HbA1c results and provides structured diabetes education.

For thyroid disease, he evaluates and manages hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism, prescribes antithyroid drugs and levothyroxine, and evaluates thyroid nodules including coordination of fine needle aspiration cytology. He manages adrenal disorders including primary adrenal insufficiency and coordinates the investigation of suspected endocrine hypertension. He provides obesity and metabolic syndrome management including lifestyle counselling and pharmacotherapy.

CNHU-HKM serves Benin's domestic population and patients from neighbouring Togo and Nigeria who seek specialist endocrinology consultations in Cotonou. Dr. Ahouansou consults in French. International patients and Beninese diaspora from France, Belgium, and the United States seeking specialist diabetes or thyroid evaluation during visits to Cotonou may access his consultations through the hospital's outpatient department. Referrals to higher-level centres in Abidjan, Dakar, or France are facilitated for cases requiring specialist investigations or procedures not available in Benin.

Dr. Ahouansou has been recognised by the Société Béninoise d'Endocrinologie et de Diabétologie for his contributions to diabetes care quality improvement in Benin and for his leadership in establishing structured diabetes patient education at CNHU-HKM. He received a commendation from the Société Francophone du Diabète for his participation in its West African diabetes epidemiology registry.