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UFS Mobile Clinic - an exemplary framework of innovation
Free State Department of Health and the UFS Faculty of Health Sciencesentered into a partnership set to improve primary health care in the Free State society.
The Coordinator of Community Engagement and Rural Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr René Botha, described the unveiling and handing-over ceremony of the University of the Free State (UFS) Faculty of Health Sciences’ Mobile Clinic as “an auspicious and phenomenal occasion in the history of the faculty, and the institution as a whole”.

This mobile healthcare service will align itself with the current mobile service offered by the Free State Department of Health (FSDH) and will include an optometry service. This is the first service of its kind and aims to expose students and the broader community to mobile primary healthcare on rural platforms.

This collaboration between the Faculty of Health Sciences and the FSDH is believed to change and improve lives.   

“The purpose of the clinic is to enrich current primary healthcare measures that were implemented through valuable collaborations. This will result in the betterment of community members who have limited access to healthcare resources,” explained Dr Botha.

UFS medical students have been working on a continuous healthcare programme that started in 2016. The programme operates in areas in the southern Free State, where students engage with the community, schools, clinics, and are making home visits to residents in the area. The main purpose of the programme is to find solutions to key healthcare problems in the region. 

The MEC of Health, Montseng Tsiu, addressed the audience and explained, “implementing primary healthcare holistically through the mobile clinic, will benefit residents in rural areas who have a lack of facilities”. 

According to Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, the mobile clinic is an example of the innovation framework that cultivates the university’s mandate. The mandate stipulates the creation and maintenance of equitable partnerships with the province, the FSDH, the Department of Education, and many other crucial stakeholders that will ensure the imparting of knowledge, excellence, and quality in contributing to society.

News Archive

UFS facilitates historic meeting between NAFU and FS agriculture
2007-06-14

 

Attending the meeting were, from the left: Mr Louw Steytler (President of Free State Agriculture), Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk (Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS) and Rev Otto Mbongula (President of NAFU in the Free State).
 
UFS facilitates historic meeting between NAFU and FS agriculture

A significant breakthrough in the agricultural sector has taken place today (13 June 2007) following a historical meeting between Free State Agriculture and the National African Farmers Union (NAFU) during which it was decided to work together in future in various areas to achieve collective objectives for the sector.

Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) facilitated the process. The meeting was attended by Rev Otto Mbongula, President of NAFU in the Free State and Mr Louw Steytler, President of Free State Agriculture.

“I am excited about the openness of the discussions between the two parties as it holds great advantages for the agricultural sector in the Free State Province,” says Prof. van Schalkwyk.

The parties proposed co-operation on various terrains and agreed to talk to each other on a regular basis, and to identify differences and similarities to the advantage of the province’s economy. This agreement is closely linked to the intended co-operation between AGRI SA and NAFU SA which was agreed to at a meeting last year in Pretoria.

During the meeting the parties also agreed to involve other role players in the discussions in due course, and communication with the Provincial Government was highlighted as an important point of departure.

“NAFU and Free State Agriculture can set an example at provincial level for the agricultural sector as a whole to ensure sustained participation about the economic future of the sector,” says Prof. van Schalkwyk.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
13 June 2007

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