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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

Minister praises MUCPP initiative
2004-10-04

The Minister of Labour, Mr MMS Mdladlana, singled out the Mangaung University of the Free State Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP) for high praise during a conference at the MUCPP complex on 30 September 2004 .

“I am very pleased with what the partnership of different stakeholders can do and I thank all stakeholders for contributing to this initiative. This is the kind of energy that our country needs,” the minister told delegates to the conference.

He said the MUCPP was a very unusual and important partnership that is related directly to the mandate of government and supports two strategic objectives of government, namely halving poverty and halving unemployment.

The MUCPP was launched in 1991 as a partnership between the University of the Free State , the local community of Mangaung, local and provincial government and the private sector, in an effort to develop skills and contribute to fighting poverty.

Some of the existing projects of the MUCPP include:

  • Health centre (including a 24-hour maternity ward)
  • Dairy producing yoghurt and amasi
  • Sewing and knitting project
  • Indigenous food production (Tsa se tso)
  • Bakery
  • Bed and Breakfast accommodation
  • Etsa phapang (a hydroponic facility growing various vegetables)
  • Welding project
  • Low cost housing project
  • Sport and recreation facilities and programmes

According to the Minister, hundreds of young people, adult learners and people with disabilities have benefited from training and skills development and have become involved in carpentry, welding, painting, cleaning services, gardening and HIV / AIDS awareness programmes.

Minister Mdladlana said he was pleased that through partnerships with several Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) which fall under the Department of Labour, the MUCPP could access hundreds of thousands of rands for such training and development.

“I can just salute those that have made it possible, and to encourage you to keep up the good work,” the minister said.

The MUCPP also provides a means for students of the UFS to render community service. The UFS was one of the first universities in South Africa to adopt a comprehensive community service policy in 2002. In terms of the policy, community service is integrated into curricula through service learning modules.

It is therefore of great importance that the UFS should support community sites such as the MUCPP where a holistic and integrated approach to mutual and reciprocal development of all partners is followed.

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