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30 August 2018 Photo Xolisa Mnukwa
Haemophilia workshop the first of its kind at UFS
The UFS Department of Haematology and Cell Biology is producing quality medical graduates, addressing the high demand for trained graduates. Dr Anneke van Marle, Haematologist in the department, presented a lecture to final-year medical students on muscle and soft-tissue bleeding in haemophilia.
The Medical and Scientific Advisory Council (MASAC) of the South African Haemophilia Foundation (SAHF) has identified a need for more in-depth training of junior doctors on the basic aspects of the bleeding disorder haemophilia. 

Addressing this need in the sector, the Department of Haematology and Cell Biology at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted a training workshop specifically targeting final-year medical students before they enter practice.

The Novo Nordisk Haemophilia Foundation is sponsoring this countrywide haemophilia training.

According to Jaco Joubert, Senior Lecturer and Pathologist in the Department of Haematology and Cell Biology, the department is very active in the field of haemophilia treatment, research and training, with representation on the Executive Committee of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the South African Haemophilia Foundation.

Function with confidence

“The UFS Department of Haematology and Cell Biology has taken a proactive approach, by being the first department in South Africa to offer this training course to final-year medical students at the UFS; an investment in the future. The department runs the Bloemfontein Haemophilia Treatment Centre – which is the main haemophilia treatment and referral centre for patients from the Free State and Northern Cape. It is therefore ideally positioned to offer such training to students,” said Joubert.

Proactive role

The training workshop empowered and equipped students with more extensive knowledge on the practical aspects of managing patients with haemophilia; the various treatment products currently available in South Africa and laboratory diagnostic approaches in complicated cases. “This will enable students to function with more confidence during their internship and community service years,” said Joubert. 

He believes a training workshop of this calibre showcases the proactive role the department and the university is taking in the advancement of haemophilia training in South Africa.

News Archive

Prof Moffett’s third book provides comprehensive guide to Basotho medicinal plants
2017-07-26

 Description: Prof Moffett’s book Tags: Prof Moffett’s book  

Prof Rodney Moffett’s three books documenting Basotho
plants, animals, and the history of the Free State and Lesotho.
Photo: Thabo Kessah


Prof Rodney Moffett has recently published his third book, Basotho Medicinal Plants – Meriana ya Dimela Tsa Basotho. This latest offering deals only with medicinal uses and is based on the data from his first book, Sesotho Plant and Animal Names and Plants Used by the Basotho.

“The latest book came about after a Sesotho language advisor in the Free State Department of Education suggested that there was a need for the medicinal uses of plants by the Basotho to be documented in the vernacular. In a situation where there is an almost total lack of scientific literature in the vernacular, the greatest value of this book therefore, is that it provides a comprehensive guide to the medicinal uses of plants in Sesotho,” said Prof Moffett, Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Plant Sciences on the Qwaqwa Campus.

Book lists names of plants in Sesotho
“It comprises two parts. Part one lists the medicinal categories and plants used, and part two lists the medicinal uses arranged according to the Sesotho names of the plants. It is easy to read, as the information is presented alphabetically with the Sesotho name first, followed by the scientific name and usage thereof. Because a plant often has more than one Sesotho name, the scientific name is included to identify it.”

Prof Chris Nhlapo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, and Prof Ntsamaeeng Moteetee from the University of Johannesburg are impressed with the book, respectively saying that it assists in documenting the deep indigenous knowledge of the “proud tradition of the Basotho Nation” and it is “an important contribution to the documentation of medicinal plant uses”.

The title of Prof Moffet’s second book was A Biographical Dictionary of Contributors to the Natural History of the Free State and Lesotho.

Prof Moffett was honoured with a Lifetime Researcher Award during the Academic and Research Awards on the Qwaqwa Campus in November.

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