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UFS dermatologist publishes first-ever comprehensive skin atlas

11 September 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Francois van Vuuren (iFlair Photography)

DrLehlohonoloMakhakhe_read more — Dr Lehlohonolo Makhakhe is from the Department of Dermatology at the University of the Free State (UFS).

A senior lecturer and specialist in the Department of Dermatology at the University of the Free State (UFS) has published the very first comprehensive African atlas on skin diseases commonly seen in the African setting.

The African Atlas, synopsis and practical guide to clinical dermatology also contains more than 1 000 high-resolution images and is intended for medical and nursing students.

Dr Lehlohonolo Makhakhe, a full-time medical specialist (dermatologist) and the author of the book, says this is the first comprehensive full-colour atlas, with contributions from endocrinologists, haematologists, rheumatologists, psychiatrists and the UFS departments of Pharmacology, Dietetics and Paediatrics.

The project started in 2016, after Dr Makhakhe received formal approval from the UFS Ethics Committee and the provincial Department of Health and it was officially published in July 2020 by African Brilliant Minds Publishers.

The book will have numerous benefits

Dr Makhakhe was a general practitioner with his own practice before joining the UFS to specialise. He then realised that a comprehensive manual was needed, focusing on common skin conditions in our South African setting. He further realised we lacked such a book which would be very beneficial to doctors and nurses.

“I decided to write this book to encourage unity among doctors in different fields within medicine, particularly at the UFS, and to help promote the culture of writing and producing quality, well-researched, locally brewed content that is relevant to our setting.

“I also wanted to play a part in providing de-commodified (affordable) books, in the hope of dispensing knowledge and promoting learning for our medical and nursing students to get sound book knowledge, so that they can better manage skin-related pathology,” added Dr Makhakhe.

He said he also aims to create revenue for the university and advance research projects through this book. It also provides an overview of the management of the conditions included in this user-friendly manual.

Challenges during the compilation of the book

Dr Makhakhe highlighted the huge costs for the publisher, time management of the different contributors, as well as gaining the trust of the contributors for a concept that has never been done before. He aimed to change perceptions relating to dermatology as a secluded and isolated discipline, but also for the department to be seen as an integral part of the medical discipline.

According to the author of four books (including this one), the publisher is also in talks with many nursing schools across the country to make the book available to nursing students.

Dr Makhakhe says this atlas was by far his biggest project to date, as his first three books were short stories. He is currently working on a national project with contributors including Prof Johann Schneider (Head: Anatomical Pathology, Stellenbosch University), Prof Jacqueline Goedhals (Head: Anatomical Pathology, UFS), Prof Nndweleni Bida (Head: Anatomical Pathology, University of Pretoria), Prof Faffa Jordaan (Former head of Dermatology, Stellenbosch University) and Prof Wayne Grayson (renowned pathologist in the private sector), which will also be the first of its kind.

“In summary, the publications are aimed at building a good name for our university through locally produced, high-quality books that are affordable. Once production costs to the publisher are settled, a sizable portion of future proceeds will then be directed to the university as per endorsement protocols.” he stated further.

Dr Makhakhe thanked the Head of the Free State Department of Health, Dr David Motau, the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Francis Petersen, the acting Deputy Director-General of Clinical Services, Dr Marcus Molokomme, and also extended a special word of appreciation to the Head of the School of Clinical Medicine at the UFS, Prof Nathaniel Mofolo, for his assistance and support in making this project a success. He concluded by thanking all the contributors for making time for this historic project.

The book is now fully endorsed by the UFS and will be offered as part of the curriculum for third- to final-year medical students.

News Archive

Protection of Information bill- opinions from our experts

2011-11-28

Prof. Hussein Solomon
Senior Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of the Free State.

In recent years, given their failure to effectively govern, the ANC has become increasingly defensive. These defensive traits have become particularly acute in light of the various corruption scandals that members of the ruling party involve themselves in.

Given the fact that for now they are assured of an electoral majority (largely on account of their anti-apartheid credentials), coupled with the fact that they have managed to make parliament a rubber stamp of the executive as opposed to holding the executive accountable, it is the media which has increasingly held the ruling party to account by exposing such corruption and incompetence in government.

The passing of the information bill, therefore, is not merely an attack on the media, but an attack on the pivotal issue of accountability. Without accountability, there can be no democracy.

By defining national interest broadly, by refusing to accept a public interest clause in the bill, the ANC increasingly shows its disdain to South Africa's constitution and its citizens.

More importantly, as former Minister of Intelligence and ANC stalwart Ronnie Kasrils pointedly makes clear, the ANC is also betraying its own noble struggle against the odious apartheid regime. It was the media which played a key role in exposing apartheid's excesses, it is the same media which is coming under attack by the heirs of PW Botha's State Security Council - Minister of State Security Siyabong Cwele and his security apparatchiks whose mindsets reflect more Stalin's Gulag's than the values of the Freedom Charter.

The passing of this bill is also taking place at a time when journalists have had their phones attacked, where the judiciary has been deliberately undermined and parliament silenced.

Democrats beware!

Prof. Johann de Wet

Chairperson: Department of Communication Science

The ANC’s insistence on passing the Protection of State Information Bill in its current form and enforcing it by law, means that the essence of our democratic state and the quality of life of every citizen is at stake.

Yes, our freedom as academics, researchers, mass media practitioners and citizens comes into play. Freedom implies the right to choose and is, along with equality, an underlying principle which helps make democracy happen. While the South African state needs to protect (classify) information which could threaten its security and/or survival, the omission of a public interest clause in the Bill at this stage effectively denies a citizen the right to freedom of information.

Freedom of information, along with press freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association and religious freedom, are essential to democracy. These freedoms are granted because they conform to basic liberal ideas associated with (Western) democracy and which resonate with South Africa’s liberal constitution, such as (1) belief in the supreme value of the individual (and thus not of the state); (2) belief that the individual has natural rights (rights which belong to all human beings by nature – such as the right to life and to control government)) which exist independently of government, and which ought to be protected by and against government; and (3) recognition of the supreme value of the individual.

One wonders how many cases of South African government corruption and mismanagement would have been uncovered by investigative journalists over the past number of years if this Bill in its current form was on the statute books. This Bill represents a backward step from the promise of democracy of having an informed public. The former National Party government had similar laws in place and one does not want to go there again. The infamous Information Scandal in South Africa of some thirty years ago, or Muldergate as it has come to be known, reminds one of what governments can do when it works clandestinely.

What South Africans need, is more information on what government structures are doing and how they are doing it with taxpayers’ money, not less information. While information in itself does not equal communication or dialogue, it is an indispensable part thereof, and the need for dialogue based on verifiable information is urgent for meeting vexed challenges facing South African communities. Academics in all fields of specialisation are constantly in need of untainted information to pursue answers and/or offer solutions to where South Africa should be moving in all spheres of life.

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