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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

Afrikaans Language Day invites greater university community to celebrate the language

2015-08-26

On 14 August 2015, the Vuur en Vlam Committee hosted an event which provided the university community the opportunity to celebrate Afrikaans Language Day. The occasion celebrated the establishment of the language in South Africa. With the unexpected arrival of the Dutch in 1652, the language transition proved a struggle for the indigenous peoples domiciled on African soil.

The committee’s primary objective was to change existing cultural connotations associated with the Afrikaans language. The use of diversity can help undermine the African stereotype held about the Afrikaans language, and thus bring about a mindset shift. It is important to remember that not all Afrikaans speakers are white, and emphasis is rarely directed to the diversity of Afrikaans speakers.

Approaching the celebration, a sensitive discussion around the Afrikaans language was hosted, in which various panel members discussed the state and current outlook of the language. Prof André Keet, Director of the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice, who was part of the panel said, “No language gets to be misused to maintain the privilege of the past.” Director of the Free State Arts Festival, Ricardo Peach, shared the notion that “We must build on what we have, and not break it down,” while he describes himself as a “polluted language boer”. While there is a strongly-expressed hatred for the Afrikaans language, Peach maintained further that there is much work to be done in order to “Break down the link between the language and the Holocaust which took place in the homes of Afrikaans people.”

Lindiwe Kumalo, chairperson of the Vuur en Vlam Committee, said: “We are creating an awareness around campus that Afrikaans is not dead. Once you know the language, you can interact with other people, and there is no longer that language barrier.” Amongst other things, the event encouraged dialogue by creating fun and interactive activities which exposed visitors to the language.

The Vuur en Vlam Committee is committed to creating an awareness of, and vibrancy around, the Afrikaans language, and to engaging the broader university community.

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