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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

Old Mutual Investment Group invests in our students

2013-07-22

Old Mutual Investment Group’s Imfundo Trust scholars with Mr Muhammad Brey (far left) and Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS (far right).
Photo: Hannes Pieterse
22 July 2013

“I am one step closer to entering the corporate world as a young woman. My dream is to work for a large firm and now it is possible,” said Melody Motaung, a B Accounting first-year student. She is one of the first recipients of the Old Mutual Investment Group’s Imfundo Trust scholarship, which was launched at the university recently.

Melody is one of seven Kovsies and 91 students countrywide to benefit from the R20 million trust, aimed at empowering black professional people in the financial sector. Kovsies is now one of eight universities whose students benefit from the trust. It already empowers students from the University of Johannesburg, UNISA, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, University of the Western Cape, University of Fort Hare, Stellenbosch University and Rhodes University.

”The UFS embodies the excellence and innovation we are looking for in tertiary institutions,“ Mr Muhammad Brey, trustee of the trust, said during the launch. He conveyed that the main aim of the trust is to address the shortage of black professional investors in South Africa and to expand the source of suitably qualified individuals in the asset management industry.

The seven recipients, all of them female first-year students, were encouraged by the speakers to do their part in addressing South Africa’s skills shortage in the financial sector.

Prof Hendri Kroukamp, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, said with the assistance of the Old Mutual Investment Group, the students – four of them B Accounting students – will help to address the shortage of chartered accountants in the country. “As qualified financial experts, they can make a big contribution.”

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