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Prof Mamello Sekhoacha new chairperson of National Health Research Ethics Council

08 February 2021 | Story André Damons | Photo Charl Devenish

Read more — Prof Mamello Sekhoacha, Associate Professor from the Department of Pharmacology in the Faculty of Health Sciences, was appointed by Dr Zweli Mkhize, Minister of Health, as the new chairperson of the National Health Research Ethics Council of South Africa (NHREC).

A researcher in the field of drug discovery and development at the University of the Free State (UFS) has been appointed by Dr Zweli Mkhize, Minister of Health, as the new chairperson of the National Health Research Ethics Council of South Africa (NHREC).

Prof Mamello Sekhoacha, Associate Professor from the Department of Pharmacology in the Faculty of Health Sciences, was appointed as a member of the NHREC council in 2013, and later became the chairperson of the NHREC’s Norms and Standards Committee responsible for developing and revising guidelines for health research. Prof Sekhoacha was appointed deputy chairperson of the council in 2018 and has played an integral part in setting ethical standards for conducting health research in the country.

Responsibilities of the NHREC

The NHREC is the national statutory body responsible for the governance and advancement of health research ethics in South Africa. Some of the responsibilities of the council are to set ethical norms and standards for health research by developing and revising the guidelines pertaining to health research; to promote and monitor compliance with existing regulations by health research ethics committees; and to build capacity in research ethics committees through robust registration and audit processes.

These responsibilities of the NHREC rest on the need to ensure ethical integrity in research involving human participants and animal subjects, and that research is based on sound scientific and ethical principles.

“It is an honour for me to serve on the NHREC for the third term. The NHREC has achieved remarkable outputs over the past three years, and I believe, given the current composition of the council members, this momentum will not be lost. One of the goals of the NHREC is to further broaden the scope of the ethics in health research guidelines from ‘biomedical research’ to ‘health-related research’ to ensure that adequate guidance is provided for those in health-related disciplines, as a response to the changing environment of research involving humans and the broader meaning of health research.”

“We need more comprehensive guidelines with nuanced commentaries to indicate how the ethical principles that emanated from biomedical research involving humans, could be effectively implemented in other disciplines of health-related research,” says Prof Sekhoacha.

Global paradigm shift in role and integration of ethics in health research

Having been a council member since 2013, Prof Sekhoacha, whose training spans from pre-clinical laboratory experimentation, the use of animals in research, clinical trials, and working with indigenous communities, says there is a global paradigm shift in the role and integration of ethics in health research in almost all aspects of research, with an increased emphasis on the scientific and social value of research: the prospect of generating the knowledge in a manner that protects and promotes people's health. Considerations of the NHREC go beyond developing ethical guidelines or ensuring the efficient functioning of the ethics committees, to raising awareness among research institutions and researchers to continually promote ethically sound research conduct.

The subject of ethics in health research is pivotal and reflective of the values of both the institution and the country at large.

UFS uses Prof Sekhoacha’s expertise on ethics

Prof Sekhoacha is also a co-opted advisory member in the Senate Research Ethics Committee of the UFS and facilitates workshops and seminars on research ethics offered by the Postgraduate School.

Prof Corli Witthuhn, Vice-Rector: Research and Internationalisation, says it is a great honour for the UFS that Prof Sekhoacha has been elected chair of the NHREC. “The NHREC governs the research ethics processes in South Africa, and it is strategically important for the UFS to now have one of our own academics play such a nationally important role. We have been using Prof Sekhoacha’s expertise on issues of ethics and we are looking forward to working with her to continue to better our own ethics processes.”

News Archive

Kovsie artists to rock at Vryfees

2014-06-18

Photo: Conrad Bornman

It is the dead of winter in the heart of the Free State. The Vryfees is laying full steam ahead.

However, the talent that makes of this annual arts festival such a phenomenal success doesn’t only come from outside of our Bloemfontein Campus. This year’s productions will abound with performances by Kovsie staff, students and alumni from our Department of Drama and Theatre Arts.

Behind the scenes, our people will also play a vital role in the achievement and progress of the festival. Prof Luwes is a member of the festival committee and together with Dr Venter and Godfrey Manenye, he also serves on the artistic selection committee for theatre.

Thys Heydenrych, lecturer in the above department, was appointed as the technical manager of this year’s Vryfees. This means that he is in charge of the placement and assigning of venues for productions on campus. All the technical aspects for these venues rest on Heydenrych’s shoulders. For this huge task, he is supported by a team of technical staff which includes mostly students.

Take a look at the list of all our Kovsie artists who are working hard to make the 2014 Vryfees better than ever:

Don Juan onder die Boere
Lecturers: Walter Strydom, Gerben Kamper (director),
Students: Mark Dobson, Michael Garbett, Helet de Wet
Former students: Marijda Kamper (Wynand Mouton theatre manager), Ilne Fourie, Hilletje Möller, Chanmari Erasmus, Michelle Hoffman, An-Mari Loots, Madré van Straten

S(t)out en Peper
Lecturers: Dr Pieter Venter (director), Thys Heydenrych
Former students: Ilne Fourie, Michelle Hoffman

Nag van die Hiëna
Head of Department: Prof Nico Luwes (author and director)
Lecturers: Gerben Kamper, Minette Grové
Former students: Carel Nel, Lindy-Lee Kleynhans, Ilne Fourie, Angelo Mockie (staff member at Student Affairs)
Student: Peter Taljaard (PhD student)

Rondomskrik
Former student: Chrystal-Donna Roberts (currently Pasella presenter and previously on the set of 7de Laan)

Slaaf
Former student: Carel Nel

Te Veel vir ? Coloured Girl
Former students: Angelo Mockie (staff member at Student Affairs), Olivie Sauer

The Bar
Lecturer: Godfrey Manenye (director)
Former students: Angela Edwards, Jane Mpholo
Students: Yoliswa Jacobs and Luandro Carstens

Victoria se Geheim
Lecturer: Dr Pieter Venter (director)
Former students: Chanmari Erasmus, Carel Nel, Gené McCaskill, Michelle Hetzel
Students: Helet de Wet, Marli van der Bijl (NRF Magister Intern), Jana Coetzer, Marnel Bester

Een Kleine Lientjie
Lecturer: Walter Strydom
Former student: Anna Visser (author and director, OFM presenter)
Students: Marli van der Bijl, Charl Henning, Jana Coetzer

For more information on the productions or the Vryfees programme, follow this link:
http://www.vryfees.co.za/

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