Kovsie Health encourages students to know their status

Kovsie Health kept first things first with a recent campaign by encouraging students of the University of the Free State (UFS) to know their health status and get tested.

Awareness was raised through activations on the three UFS campuses, Bloemfontein, Qwaqwa and South Campus, during the month of March 2022 by doing screenings and providing information.

It all formed part of the First Things First campaign, where testing and screening were done for HIV, TB, sexually transmitted infections and non-communicable diseases.

“We encourage students to know their health status by getting tested and screened,” says Shibashiba Moabelo, Institutional HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinator at Kovsie Health.

On the Bloemfontein Campus the engagements, with gazebos and information, with students took place at the Thakaneng Bridge, on the Qwaqwa Campus at the Dining Hall lawns and on the South Campus.

Other screenings done included the likes of blood pressure, sugar levels, cholesterol and mental health, while condom distribution and education about alcohol and drug abuse also formed part of it.

According to Moabelo the activations were successful and the engagements with UFS students fruitful.





16 November 2022
UFS receives recognition from Premier's Office

The University of the Free State (UFS) not only hosted a successful men’s conference that will become a bigger annual event but received special recognition for its health and wellness programme.

The Premier’s Office in the Free State awarded the UFS a token of appreciation as acknowledgement for the work done.

Shibashiba Moabelo, Coordinator: HIV and AIDS office at Kovsie Health, received a certificate, for the UFS health and wellness programme, after the Mask Unity Men’s Conference. Moabelo was also an organiser of the conference.

The UFS Health and Wellness Centre, in collaboration with the UFS Residence Life, hosted the men’s conference on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus a few weeks ago.

The purpose of the conference, with the theme “Remove your mask and speak out!”, was to host conversations on masculinity issues, men and mental health, and have guest speakers encourage men about the importance of opening up.

According to Moabelo the men’s conference was a success, there have been requests to make it an annual event and next year it will be even bigger.

“Many students managed to open up about their issues and through the deliberations with the facilitators we managed to assist students,” he says.

“We would like to make it a provincial event and involve students from different universities in the Free State. That is our objective for next year.”