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27 October 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Esi Grünhagen from Pixabay
The first 1 000 days of a baby’s life, from conception to the age of two, are of critical importance as they represent the springboard which will determine the projection of the baby’s life.

The first 1 000 days of a baby’s life, from conception to the age of two, are of critical importance as they represent the springboard which will determine the projection of the baby’s life.

It is for this reason that the Mother and Child Academic Hospital (MACAH) Foundation embarked on the First 1 000 Days’ campaign to create knowledge and awareness around this concept. MACAH is working with the University of the Free State’s (UFS) and the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health to provide healthcare to mothers, their babies and children.

Dr Lizzy Tabane, new Head of Department for Paediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences says: “Better knowledge amongst our youth about the first 1 000 days is crucial for them to plan their careers and dream big about their future. This could also have an impact on the quality of life of their children. We need to empower our youth through awareness and knowledge to make the right choices.”

The campaign will be launched on 1 November.

According to Prof André Venter, MACAH Founding Director, there is basically pregnancy and two years to “get it right”.

A look at the first 1 000 days

“If we don’t get it right, there are dire consequences, especially for your newborn baby. So let’s look at these first 1 000 days. Firstly, there is the pregnancy and we would want the pregnancy to be as good as possible. That means the mother must be in good mental health, good physical health and have a good social and economic support to carry her through this time.        

“Once the baby is born, there have to be people to look after the baby The baby needs to bond; and this is actually a magical time,” says Prof Venter.

According to Prof Venter, the mother-child dyad is important because the mother is there to make sure the child is adequately fed as well as to make sure the baby develops. The mother is also there to provide emotional support. If this is lacking, the baby can grow up with marked emotional and behavioral difficulties, which will not stand it in good stead for its future.

“So the first 1 000 days are critically important and we need to get it right,” he says. Prof Venter, who is passionate about children and their development, nutrition, growth and thriving, is passionate about the first 1 000 days as it is one of the main interventions that has been shown to be effective to break the generational cycle of poverty in a population.  

Says Prof Venter: “If we don’t look after our pregnant mothers and don’t look after our young children, we put them on a trajectory that is always going to fail the child in the future. If we can get the first 1 000 days right, we can perhaps get them on the trajectory they should be, so that they fulfill their destiny and have a much more fulfilling life, both financially and physically, but also emotionally.

“So, yes, it is urgent and imperative that we have to get it right. We have to break the cycle of misery, poverty and unrequited dreams now,” says Prof Venter.   


Dr Lizzy Tabane    Prof Andre Venter

Dr Lizzy Tabane.                                             Prof André Venter.

 

 

News Archive

MBA Programme - Question And Answer Sheet - 27 May 2004
2004-05-27

1. WHAT MUST THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE (UFS) DO TO GET FULL ACCREDITATION FOR THE MBA PROGRAMMES?

According to the Council on Higher Education’s (CHE) evaluation, the three MBA programmes of the UFS clearly and significantly contribute to students’ knowledge and skills, are relevant for the workplace, are appropriately resourced and have an appropriate internal and external programme environment. These programmes are the MBA General, the MBA in Health Care Management and the MBA in Entrepreneurship.

What the Council on Higher Education did find, was a few technical and administrative issues that need to be addressed.

This is why the three MBA programmes of the UFS received conditional accreditation – which in itself is a major achievement for the UFS’s School of Management, which was only four years old at the time of the evaluation.

The following breakdown gives one a sense of the mostly administrative nature of the conditions that have to be met before full accreditation is granted by the CHE:

a. A formal forum of stakeholders: The UFS is required to establish a more structured, inclusive process of review of its MBA programmes. This is an administrative formality already in process.

b. A work allocation model: According to the CHE this is required to regulate the workload of the teaching staff, particularly as student numbers grow, rather than via standard management processes as currently done.

c. Contractual agreements with part-time staff: The UFS is required to enter into formal agreements with part-time and contractual staff as all agreements are currently done on an informal and claim-basis. This is an administrative formality already in process.

d. A formal curriculum committee: According to the CHE, the School of Management had realised the need for a structure – other than the current Faculty Board - where all MBA lecturers can deliberate on the MBA programmes, and serve as a channel for faculty input, consultation and decision-making.

e. A system of external moderators: This need was already identified by the UFS and the system is to be implemented as early as July 2004.

f. A compulsory research component: The UFS is required to introduce a research component which will include the development of research skills for the business environment. The UFS management identified this need and has approved such a component - it is to take effect from January 2005. This is an insufficient element lacking in virtually all MBA programmes in South Africa.

g. Support programmes for learners having problems with numeracy: The UFS identified this as a need for academic support among some learners and has already developed such a programme which will be implemented from January 2005.

The majority of these conditions have been satisfied already and few remaining steps will take effect soon. It is for this reason that the UFS is confident that its three MBA programmes will soon receive full accreditation.

2. WHAT ACCREDITATION DOES THE UFS HAVE FOR ITS MBA PROGRAMME?

The UFS’s School of Management received conditional accreditation for its three MBA programmes.

Two levels of accreditation are awarded to tertiary institutions for their MBA programmes, namely full accreditation and conditional accreditation. When a programme does not comply with the minimum requirements regarding a small number of criteria, conditional accreditation is given. This can be rectified during the short or medium term.

3. IS THERE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE ACADEMIC CORE OF THE UFS’s MBA PROGRAMMES?

No. The UFS is proud of its three MBA programmes’ reputation in the market and the positive feedback it receives from graduandi and their employers.

The MBA programmes of the UFS meet most of the minimum requirements of the evaluation process.

In particular, the key element of ‘teaching and learning’, which relates to the curriculum and content of the MBA programmes, is beyond question. In other words, the core of what is being taught in our MBA programmes is sound.

4. IS THE UFS’s MBA A WORTHWHILE QUALIFICATION?

Yes. Earlier this year, the School of Management – young as it is - was rated by employers as the best smaller business school in South Africa. This was based on a survey conducted by the Professional Management Review and reported in the Sunday Times Business Times, of 25 January 2004.

The UFS is committed to maintaining these high standards of quality, not only through compliance with the requirements of the CHE, but also through implementing its own quality assurance measures.

Another way in which we benchmark the quality of our MBA programmes is through the partnerships we have formed with institutions such as the DePaul University in Chicago and Kansas State University, both in the US, as well as the Robert Schuman University in France.

For this reason the UFS appreciates and supports the work of the CHE and welcomes its specific findings regarding the three MBA programmes.

It is understandable that the MBA review has caused some nervousness – not least among current MBA students throughout the country.

However, one principle that the UFS management is committed to is this: preparing all our students for a world of challenge and change. Without any doubt the MBA programme of the UFS is a solid preparation.

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