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14 January 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah
Dr Lisa Komoreng
Dr Lisa Komoreng’s research highlights traditional medicinal plant qualities used to deal with diseases like TB and elephantiasis.

The burden that diseases like tuberculosis (TB), lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), sexually transmitted infections (STIs), skin infections, and ear, nose and throat (ENT) infections bring to the country, mainly poverty-stricken communities, has prompted Dr Lisa Komoreng to focus her research on traditional medicinal plants.

 

South Africa, says Dr Komoreng, has the third highest number of reported cases and the fifth highest number of estimated prevalent cases, with the second highest burden of drug-resistant TB cases in the world amongst the 22 high-burden countries.

South Africa is burdened
by elephantiasis and treating
it remains a huge problem,
says Dr Lisa Komoreng.

 

“According to the Free State Provincial Strategic Plan (2012-2016), HIV and TB are the leading causes of death in the Province, with TB being the second most leading cause. Our country is also burdened by elephantiasis and treating it remains a huge problem. Patients are often turned away from some of the public hospitals, reasons being that there is no treatment in the country or that the disease needs specialist care. It with this in mind that my research focuses on providing treatment that is cheaper than western medicine, easily accessible, with fewer or no side effects,” she said.

 

“People suffering from elephantiasis are not only physically disabled, but they suffer mental, social and financial losses contributing to stigma and poverty. Some of the drugs used to treat the disease are ineffective against adult parasitic worms, which are the ones that cause the disease, and they also have side effects. Our research in dealing with these diseases enables us to work hand-in-hand with herbalists, traditional healers and people who have indigenous knowledge about the use of traditional medicine. We consult with them in order to acquire information about the medicinal plants that are used to treat and manage those diseases. Once they provide us with information, we collect the plant species together, which we subsequently take to the University herbarium for proper identification of their scientific names and to the laboratory for experiments,” she added.

 

Dr Komoreng is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences at the Qwaqwa Campus. She has authored and co-authored over 15 research articles and has presented her research at various national and international conferences.  Her research team comprises of 5 MSc and 4 PhD students.

 

The Thuthuka NRF Rating Track (2015 – 2017 and 2018 – 2020) funds the research project on elephantiasis.

News Archive

SRC elections: A first for UFS main campus
2005-08-14

Students on the main campus of the of the University of the Free State (UFS) will this week for the first time vote for the Student Representative Council (SRC) using two voting systems: proportional representation (PR) and first-past-the-post. 

According to the Vice-Rector, Student Affairs, Dr Ezekiel Moraka, this year’s elections are a milestone for the UFS as it will be the first time that the main campus SRC will be elected according to the amended SRC constitution, which was approved by the UFS Council in June 2005.

“It is also a major breakthrough for student governance and transformation of the UFS main campus and constitutes a legitimate basis for the democratic participation of all students at the UFS main campus in the governance of the university,” said Dr Moraka.

The amended constitution of the main campus SRC determines that nine of the 18 SRC members must be elected by means of proportional representation and nine on the basis of an individual, first-past-the-post election.
 
According to Dr Moraka, the introduction of the proportional representation system follows earlier calls by some student formations, notably Sasco and the ANC Youth League, for such a system to be introduced at the UFS main campus in Bloemfontein.

The new main campus SRC constitution is the result of consensus reached during a lengthy negotiation process involving diverse student formations such as Sasco, the ANC Youth League, the Young Communist League, the ACDP, HEREXVII, KovsieAlliance, as well as the democratically elected SRC members of the main campus.

“Independent persons such as Mr Jack Klaas and Mr Kobus van Loggerenberg, a former SRC President, facilitated the negotiation process,” said Dr Moraka.

Students on the main campus in Bloemfontein will vote for a new SRC on Monday 15 August 2005.

SRC elections will also take place on the other two campuses of the UFS, which have their own SRC structures.

Students on the UFS-Vista campus in Bloemfontein will vote for a new SRC on Monday 15 August 2005 and Tuesday 16 August 2005.

At the Qwaqwa campus of the UFS, students will vote for a new SRC on Friday 26 August 2005.

The election processes on all three campuses will be closely monitored by independent electoral bodies. 

After the three campuses have elected their respective SRCs a central SRC will be constituted.  The central SRC will have 12 members made up of delegates of the three campus SRCs, including the presidents of these three SRCs. The main campus will have five representatives, the Qwaqwa campus will have four representatives and the Vista campus will have three representatives.

Main campus voting schedule:
Monday 15 August 2005 from 07:00-21:00.  Ten voting stations will be set up across the campus.  The results will be announced on Tuesday 16 August 2005.

Vista campus voting schedule:
Monday 15 August 2005 and Tuesday 16 August 2005 from 09:00-18:00 in the administration building.  The results will be announced on Wednesday 17 August 2005.
 
Qwaqwa campus voting schedule:
Friday 26 August 2005 from 09:00-18:00 in the Senate Hall.  If there is no objection to the final results, it will be announced on the same day.


Media release

Issued by:  Lacea Loader
   Media Representative
   Tel:  (051) 401-2584
   Cell:  083 645 2454
   E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za

14 August 2005
 

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