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01 September 2020 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied
Devina Harry Kader Asmal Fellowship
The UFS’ Devina Harry was accepted into the Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme.

The UFS’ own Devina Harry is set to travel to Ireland in September 2020 to begin a year-long Fellowship Programme for a Master of Business. As one of 20 students selected from the African continent, Devina was recently accepted into the Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme, which affords her the opportunity to study in Ireland during the 2020/21 academic year.

A research assistant in the Department of Business Management, Devina holds an Honours in Marketing. “I am very grateful to be awarded this scholarship and excited about this new journey,” says Devina, who is scheduled to begin the programme in October 2020. “I hope to come back to South Africa and contribute to my field of study,” she says.

Devina went through a rigorous application process and had to meet the criteria for selection, one of which is having a minimum average grade point of 75% for her honours.

Prof Brownhilder Nene, Head of Department: Business Management, gave Devina some words of encouragement: “You will never know how far you can go unless you try. Thank you, Devina, for stepping out of your comfort zone and getting this scholarship.” 

The Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme is a South African strand of a broader Ireland-Africa Fellows Programme managed by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It was set up in 2012 in honour of the late Professor Kader Asmal, and is a fully-funded scholarship opportunity for those who want to develop skills and knowledge to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in South Africa.

News Archive

UFS researcher explores the future cost of cancer
2017-01-10

 Description: 001 Dr Alicia Sherriff Tags: 001 Dr Alicia Sherriff

Dr Alicia Sherriff, Head the Department of Oncology
at the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences, co-authored
an article in the South African Medical Journal.

Photo: Charl Devenish

Cancer is on an exponential rise globally, and the cost of treatment is a growing international problem. South Africa alone is expected to see a 78% increase in cancer cases. Dr Alicia Sheriff, Head of the Department of Oncology, collaborated on and co-authored a research paper for the South African Medical Journal on the future of oncology treatment in the country, along with doctors from various universities across South Africa. The article, titled "The future cost of cancer: interdisciplinary cost management strategy", looks at the prognosis of cancer management in the country.

Cancer is on the rise

There is a visible growth of the cancer disease in the developing world. Rapidly changing lifestyles, uncontrolled urbanisation, pollution, and population ageing are some dynamics that provide a lethal cocktail of infectious and lifestyle risk factors that leave people at a higher risk of developing cancer.

The simultaneous increase in cancer incidence has increased the cost of treatment exponentially. The cost of cancer treatment is multitiered, making the provision of care for cancer patients a high-risk business. A combination of treatment delays, limited resources, differently skilled personnel, high patient volumes and advanced disease stage on presentation all place a bigger burden on the delivery of optimal cancer care outcomes.

Adoption of new strategies

According to the doctors, innovative thinking to embrace technology, combined with a preventive approach, as well as lowering the cost of treatment drugs should be prioritised. So should the commercialisation of new technologies that will diagnose and treat cancer in its early stages. They also encourage interdisciplinary research funding in South Africa as a way to better understand the demographic and molecular dynamics of cancer in the country, along with retaining more oncologists in the public health sector.

Efficient solutions to curb cancer mortality

The doctors assert there is a need to continue to look for more efficient measures to best treat the disease, and hopefully bring about a change in mortality levels in South Africa.

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