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25 September 2019 | Story Rulanzen Martin | Photo Stefan Els
Run to Stellenbosch run
The baton #hope took centre stage at the welcoming ceremony of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth team at Coetzenburg stadium in Stellenbosch on 25 September 2019. Pictured here from the left; Susan van Jaarsveld, Burneline Kaars, Arina Engelbrecht and Tertia de Bruin.
The #UFSRun4MentalHealth awareness runners arrived in Stellenbosch on 25 September 2019.

The 21-member team from the Faculty of Health Sciences and Organisational Development and Employee Wellness at the University of the Free State (UFS) had a send-off ceremony on the Bloemfontein Campus on 20 September 2019, on their running journey to Stellenbosch University (SU) to raise awareness for #MentalHealth. The teams ran a distance of 1 075 km at an average speed of 10.03 km/h or a pace of 5 minutes and 59 seconds per km.

"At last, the team has arrived. I am extremely proud of all the runners and I think they have touched many lives, and I think it was a wonderful experience. On behalf of the University of the Free State, welcome to Stellenbosch!," said Susan van Jaarsveld; Senior Director: UFS Human Resources

"We ran 1 075 kilometres from Bloemfontein to Stellenbosch. Yes, we did have some challenges along the road. There were some steeps that were too heavy, and the wind, the dryness, and some gravel roads that we went through. But, because of the team spirit and the inspiration that we maintained during our challenge, we did very well until we got to Stellenbosch this morning," said red team member, Diphate Dimo from the university's Facilities Management. 


Read more:
#UFSRun4MentalHealth: 973 km down, 100 km to go
First #MentalHealth awareness run to Stellenbosch to bring hope
MENTAL HEALTH: It affects all of us
Guardians of Mental Health
#KovsiesCare: HR prioritises mental health in the workplace



At the finish line, after they ran a distance of 1 075 km at an average speed of 10.03 km/h or a pace of 5 minutes and 59 seconds per km.
At the finish line, after they ran a distance of 1 075 km at an average speed of 10.03 km/h or a pace of 5 minutes and 59 seconds per km.
Susan van Jaarsveld, Burneline Kaars, Arina Engelbrecht, Tertia de Bruin
Susan van Jaarsveld, Burneline Kaars, Arina Engelbrecht, Tertia de Bruin
Runners in Ceres
Runners in Ceres
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth runners
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth runners
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth runners
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth runners
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth runners
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth runners
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth runners
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth runners
On their way to Coetzenburg Stadium
On their way to Coetzenburg Stadium
On their way to Coetzenburg Stadium
On their way to Coetzenburg Stadium
On their way to Coetzenburg Stadium
On their way to Coetzenburg Stadium
Ready for the arrival of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth runners at Coetzenburg Stadium
Ready for the arrival of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth runners at Coetzenburg Stadium
Almost in Stellenbosch
Almost in Stellenbosch
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth teams
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth teams
Handing over the baton of hope from one team to the next
Handing over the baton of hope from one team to the next
10 km before Victoria West
10 km before Victoria West
Early morning start
Early morning start
One of the runners with the baton of hope
One of the runners with the baton of hope
#UFSRun4MentalHealth runner
#UFSRun4MentalHealth runner
They also met fellow Kovsies on the way
They also met fellow Kovsies on the way
#UFSRun4MentalHealth runner
#UFSRun4MentalHealth runner
#MentalHealthAwareness being done in all the towns
#MentalHealthAwareness being done in all the towns
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth teams
One of the #UFSRun4MentalHealth teams
Transport for the #UFSRun4MentalHealth team
Transport for the #UFSRun4MentalHealth team

News Archive

UFS to monitor the use of ARV-drugs on pregnant women and children
2004-12-08

The University of the Free State (UFS) is to establish a Pharmacovigilance Centre that will monitor the effects of Anti-Retroviral (ARV) drugs on HIV positive pregnant women and children starting early in the new year.

The UFS is one of only two institutions chosen by the Minister of Health, Dr Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, to establish such an ARV monitoring centre.

The other centre will be based at Medical University of South Africa (MEDUNSA) and will concentrate mainly on monitoring the effects of the drugs on adults.

“The establishment of the UFS’s Pharmaconvigilance Centre forms part of government’s Comprehensive Plan on HIV and AIDS, often termed the roll-out plan for ARV drugs. The centre’s primary responsibility will be to specifically monitor the use of these drugs in pregnant women, and children under the age of 13,” said Prof Andrew Walubo of the UFS’s Department of Pharmacology.

“Although most of the side effects of ARV drugs have been identified in other countries, it has now become critical to identify the side effects amongst the South African population. This is important because many people will be exposed to the drugs within a short time. Our aim is so identify the most common side effects and make recommendations for the prevention thereof. The centre will help in detecting the risk of using anti-retroviral drugs in pregnancy and children, and prevention of adverse drug reactions,” said Prof Walubo.

According to Prof Walubo 12 drugs will be monitored – these drugs will be selected according to the patient’s profile.

The centre will comprise of two components: A pregnancy registry, which will focus on a new-born child up until two months and a pediatric registry, which will focus on children who are born of mothers who used ARV drugs and children using ARV drugs.

According to Prof Walubo, the Pharmaconvigilance Centre will also be responsible for offering relevant technical advice, training and selected research on ARV drugs in these patients.

The centre will be fully sponsored by the national Department of Health. It will be based in the UFS’s Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, and will be run in collaboration with experts from different departments in the faculty.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
8 December 2004

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