Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
22 October 2021 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Rhona Klopper
Donating masks to Rekopane Primary School, were from the left: Alfi Moolman (UFS Directorate: Community Engagement), Sonja Venter-Botes (Bloemshelter), Tina Moleko (Rankwe Primary School), and Michelle Engelbrecht (UFS Centre for Health Systems Research and Development).

The Centre for Health Systems Research and Development (CHSR&D) at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently donated 500 masks to Rekopane Primary School in Botshabelo. This initiative was part of its pledge to donate 100 cloth masks to a previously disadvantaged primary school for every 1 000 of the first 5 000 completed questionnaires that formed part of a study survey examining people’s understanding of information about COVID-19 vaccines. The results of the study will be shared with stakeholders who are responsible for providing information about COVID-19 vaccinations.

It is known that a large number of people globally and in South Africa prefer not to be vaccinated. “There are many reasons for this, and we would like to find out where people are getting information about the COVID-19 vaccination, and whether they are able to understand this information, so that they can make an informed choice about getting vaccinated. We did this by asking people about their own health and COVID-19, where they have heard about the vaccine, if they understood this information, and whether they have had/would have the vaccine or not, as well as the reasons for this,” said Prof Michelle Engelbrecht, Director of CHSR&D. 

While following guidelines such as wearing masks, sanitising hands, and social distancing are important to prevent the spread of COVID-19, a large percentage of the population will need to be vaccinated if we want to control the pandemic in the long term and prevent hospitalisation and severe illness. 

All persons in South Africa aged 18 and older were invited to complete an online survey regarding their perceptions of COVID-19 vaccines. The survey, which was available in the seven most spoken languages in the country, was advertised on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and on the Moya app.  The survey was open from 1 to 31 September 2021, and the CHSR&D received 10 554 completed questionnaires.  No data was required to complete the survey.

The Department of Basic Education partners decided on the school that would benefit, and the study provided an opportunity to support Bloemshelter, a UFS flagship programme. Alfi Moolman of the Directorate: Community Engagement said that “NGOs are really struggling to make ends meet, and we are delighted that Bloemshelter could provide the masks as one of their income-generating projects.  So many lives are touched for the good. The university is indeed a caring organisation.”


News Archive

Arts Festival Rally promises to be great fun
2009-05-20

The annual Amazing Rainbow Rally, presented by the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health and UFS Marketing, will take place on Friday, 17 July 2009 during the Volksblad Arts Festival on the Main Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein.

This year all the checkpoints will be on the campus and around the Arts Festival grounds. Corporate companies in Bloemfontein and departments at the UFS may still enter teams and checkpoints.

The closing date for entering teams is 26 June 2009. A team consists of two team members who must work together to complete a route with various checkpoints. The team, who finishes first after having successfully completed all the tasks, is the winner. Last year, Dr I Babst en Dr L Solomon from the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health were the winners of the Rally.

The closing date for entering a checkpoint is 17 June 2009. Teams must complete tasks at every checkpoint before proceeding to the next checkpoint. The company sponsoring the checkpoint will also be responsible for handling the activity at the checkpoint.

The “Arts Festival” Rally promises to challenge teams physically, mentally and even artistically. Festival goers will also have the opportunity to see what teams get up to and how their favourite team is doing.

The Rally will be presented for the fifth time in 2009. The main goal of this year’s Rally is to raise funds for the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health’s “Beds of Hope Campaign”. This campaign seeks to increase the number of intensive care beds in the paediatric and neonatal wards. Currently around 250 children and babies in central South Africa cannot receive the life-saving care they need because of a lack of facilities.

For more information and entry forms, contact Ms Adéle van Aswegen at 051 401 3535 or e-mail to vanasweg.stg@ufs.ac.za . You can also visit our website at http://bedsofhope.ufs.ac.za  


Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept