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Fighting COVID-19: Here is how we are helping

16 April 2020 | Story Department of Communication and Marketing | Photo Charl Devenish

Farmovs — In 2019, FARMOVS was pre-qualified by the WHO to support clinical studies aimed at improving access to quality generic medicines across the globe.

The University of the Free State (UFS) is committed to supporting government’s efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. During this challenging time, dedicated staff members at the UFS continue to provide services as a testimony to their commitment to advance public knowledge of COVID-19 for the greater good of South Africa.

The following is a synopsis of the areas in which the UFS is actively assisting.

Public Health Emergency Solidarity Trial
Clinicians from the Department of Internal Medicine, the Department of Critical Care, and the Division of Virology will be working with FARMOVS to participate in the Public Health Emergency Solidarity Trial initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO). This international randomised trial will evaluate four treatment options (remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, lopinavir/ritonavir plus interferon, chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine) for the treatment of COVID-19.

The trial is expected to include more than 45 countries worldwide, including a number of South African sites.

Farmovs
FARMOVS is in a planning process to support all the Bloemfontein hospitals, including Pelonomi, Universitas, 3 Military Hospital, Mediclinic, and Rosepark, in conducting the largest global trial on COVID-19 – the Public Health Emergency Solidarity Trial, under leadership of the WHO.

Negotiations are ongoing between the UFS and the Department of Health in the Free State for FARMOVS to offer support with the continuation of healthcare to non-COVID-19 patients in an attempt to free up space at Universitas Hospital for isolation of COVID-19 patients.

In 2019, FARMOVS was pre-qualified by the WHO to support clinical studies aimed at improving access to quality generic medicines across the globe. FARMOVS also receives feasibility requests for support with the evaluation of existing drugs (repurposing) as well as the development of novel drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 – this is an ongoing process.

Disaster Management Training and Education Centre (DiMTEC)
DiMTEC represents the UFS on the Provincial Joint Operation Centre (PROVJOC). The PROVJOC is a fully equipped, dedicated facility that is proactively established to enable all relevant role players /disciplines to jointly manage all safety and security-related aspects of any planned event or any major incident which has occurred or is imminent – especially in the response and recovery operations phase – at the strategic and/or tactical level, using the Unified Command System. This facility is also linked to all other established safety and security centres.

Research and Innovation
The UFS hosts a SARChI Research Chair in vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, and recently invested in the establishment of a biosafety level-3 facility. Hence, there is expertise on the campus to plan and conduct research on zoonotic and medically significant viruses. In addition, there are research groups focusing on protein expression systems with potential for utilisation in the development of diagnostic assays with application in either diagnosis or surveillance.

Currently, researchers at the UFS have established several projects that will contribute directly towards the COVID-19 outbreak.

News Archive

New name and format for UFS Rag

2017-11-02

The community garden project will help individual student communities
to begin and maintain their own vegetable gardens to address food insecurity
within their own environment.
Photo: Pixabay

Get ready for celebrating with a cause at the University of the Free State (UFS). After an external review and internal consultation process, our “giving back” will get a fresh new look. Our RAG, as you know it, will have a new name and format going forward.

Innovative thinking will align the UFS Student Affairs, RAG Community Services (RCS), Community Engagement (CE), and Services Learning (SL) to deliver suitable contributions for current community needs. We will guide the alignment process with an integrated framework for learning and developmental outcomes. If the RCS, CE, SL, and Student Affairs align their specific programmes and activities to achieve the same developmental outcomes, we believe that the collective effect will be enhanced. You get further if you pull in the same direction, rather than various good-intentioned movements on different routes.

Stronger together An Institutional Committee for Civic and Social Responsibility (CSR) will act as the overarching structure for accountability, alignment, and advice to the RCS, CE and SL divisions. In a collective effort, four exciting programmes will take flight.

1 Schools project for first-year students Mentored by senior students, groups of first-year students will be assigned to, and participate in local school projects. Students will learn to solve problems and work together in small groups as they collaborate on a specific community project involving primary or secondary schools in the Mangaung region.

2 Community gardens This project will help individual student communities to begin and maintain their own vegetable gardens to address food insecurity within their own environment.

3 Eco-vehicle project for senior students The aim of the eco-vehicle project is to create an interdisciplinary experience. Undergraduate senior students from a Student Life College (SLC) can work together to build an eco-vehicle from waste material. The track day, along with creative pit stops, will take place on 16 February 2018, preceding the Community celebration of 17 February 2018.

4 Community celebration To foster good relationships between the UFS and the community, we aim to host an annual celebration that will be open to the broader Mangaung community. The celebrations will kick off on the morning of 17 February 2018 with a business relay and a showcase of the eco-vehicles. The festive day will conclude with an evening music concert.

We have yet to rename “RAG”, and while this creative process is brewing, you can look forward to paying it forward with value! Any suggestions with regard to a new name for our new process can be forwarded to scheepersk@ufs.ac.za

Name suggestions will be accepted until 30 November 2017.

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