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09 June 2022 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied
Prof Motlalepula Matsabis
Prof Motlalepula Matsabisa is a professor and Director of Pharmacology at the University of the Free State (UFS) and will play host to and lead a World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP) and the African Union Commission (AU) mission to South Africa.
Prof Motlalepula Matsabisa, Director of Pharmacology at the University of the Free State (UFS), and his department will host representatives from the World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), the African Union Commission (AU) and the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Regional Expert Advisory Committee on Traditional Medicines for COVID-19 (REACT) experts, during a mission to South Africa.  

According to Prof Matsabisa, who is the chairperson of REACT, the main purpose of the mission is to meet with researchers in preclinical and as well as those conducting clinical trials for herbal medicines for COVID-19, medicines regulators, ethics committee and the local pharmaceutical companies in the herbal medicines production for COVID-19. The expected outcome of this mission is to take stock of best practices or challenges in traditional medicines research, clinical trials, ethics and medicine regulation around traditional medicines as well as capabilities in local traditional medicine products production.  

“The mission will also be looking at technical capabilities for researchers to conduct clinical trials, identify facilities conducting clinical trials, as well as pharmaceutical companies in local production of herbal medicinal products so as to recommend to the AU, countries and member states about these capabilities and how to pool resources together.

“The mission will also be looking for best research traditional medicinal products that have undergone preclinical and clinical research and produced locally so that such products could be recommended for endorsement by the WHO. At the end of the mission a report will be produced and presented to the WHO and the Department of Health and all stakeholders as well as making this report available to WHO HQ in Geneva,” says Prof Matsabisa.

This is an excellent mission given that it has been recognising the research excellence of the UFS Pharmacology IKS to attract international United Nations (UN) bodies and the AU. The Indigenous Knowledge System (IKS) for Health in the Department of Pharmacology, within the UFS Faculty of Health Sciences, has excelled in the research and development of traditional medicines.  

“The Pharmacology IKS is the first in the country and sub-region to have its research product PHELA, a traditional medicine, to receive ethics approval from Pharma Ethics and South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to be tested in a Phase II clinical trial on COVID-19 patients. This clinical study is a multicentre study conducted at clinical trial sites in Vereeniging, Kimberley and Port Elizabeth.  

“It is for this reason that Pharmacology IKS is hosting the WHO Africa CDC, EDCTP and the AU Commission Mission to South Africa delegation for coming to note the best research practices on traditional medicines research, clinical trials and manufacturing of the herbal medicinal products. Pharmacology IKS will take this mission around the country to visit key collaborators in the project, to funders of the project, and some industry partners involved in the research and production of PHELA.” 

The delegation will be at the UFS Bloemfontein Campus for the whole day of 17 June 2022, meeting with senior management, meeting chairpersons of ethics committees, visiting different laboratories including Virology, Medical Microbiology, Pharmacology and Farmovs. The other institutions the mission will meet include the National Department of Health, South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), Pharma Ethics, Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) on 13 June 2022. The high-level delegation will visit all three clinical trial sites in Vereeniging, Kimberley and Gqeberha where the Pharmacology PHELA COVID-19 clinical trials are being undertaken. During the visits the mission delegation will be in discussion with participants about best practices that could be taken and expanded throughout the continent and also to hear about challenges so that the WHO could assist.

News Archive

Access to the Bloemfontein Campus
2015-04-02

Access Control Made Easy

The first phase of access control at the University of the Free State (UFS) was implemented in August 2014. The aim of this initiative is to tighten security measures on the Bloemfontein Campus.
 
Since November 2014, access control has been implemented at all five gates on the Bloemfontein Campus. These are:

  • The Main gate in Nelson Mandela Drive (Gate 1)
  • The gate in DF Malherbe Drive (Gate 5)
  • The gate in Wynand Mouton Drive (Gate 3) 
  • The gate in Furstenburg Street (Gate 4)
  • The gate in Badenhorst Street (Gate 2)

Here is some useful information about the access control system:

1. Remember your access card when you enter the campus

Dual-function cards (with distance reader compatibility) will make your movement through the gates more convenient. The university’s access system works automatically with remote or swipe action. Please make sure that you drive close to the reader or, better still, get the dual-frequency card to manage the distance between your vehicle and the remote card reader.

As of 23 March 2015, the extra security staff, who have been assisting at the gates since the implementation of access control on the Bloemfontein Campus, are no longer manning the card readers at the gates. Therefore, persons without cards will be able to enter the campus only at the one gate in DF Malherbe Drive where the Visitors Centre is situated. They will be referred to the Visitors Centre, where a day visitor’s card will be issued to them. You will need to produce a formal identification document (e.g. ID book, driver's licence).

Security will continue their normal duties at the guardhouses for the various gates on the campus.

2. Where do I get an access card?

You can apply at the university’s Visitors Centre front desk by producing your positive identification (ID book/passport/driver’s licence) and proof of payment for your access card.

You will then be directed to the Thakaneng Bridge where you will be able to collect your access card.

  • Go to the Cashier on the Thakaneng Bridge and pay your R65 for the dual-frequency card
  • Take your receipt, together with your existing card (if you have one), to the Card Division on the Thakaneng Bridge (next to Mellins Optometrists)
  • A new photo will be taken of you at the Card Office for your new card. Your new card will then be issued immediately.

Currently, there is a sufficient stock of the dual-frequency cards available at the Card Division on the Thakaneng Bridge.
 
Alternatively, you can apply online for your access card: http://apps.ufs.ac.za/cardapplication/application.aspx

Make sure you have the following documents ready to attach when completing the online form:

  • Copy of positive identification: ID/Driver's Licence/Passport
  • Signed declaration (http://supportservices.ufs.ac.za/dl/Userfiles/Documents/00007/4668_eng.pdf) by your service provider/employer (if you are a service provider) or a letter of confirmation from your spouse/partner/relative/coach/relevant UFS staff member or student in cases where you have to visit, pick-up or drop off your spouse/partner/relative frequently on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.

Cost: R65 for a long-term card and free of charge for short-term visits and conference delegates. Pay at the Cashier on the Thakaneng Bridge or at Absa Bank, Account Number: 1 570 8500 71, Ref: 1 413 07670 0198.

3. Cutoff Date: 7 April 2015

After 7 April 2015, no pedestrian or motorist will be able to enter the campus without a valid access card. Persons without access cards will have to enter the campus at the gate in DF Malherbe Drive where the Visitors Centre is situated. You will then be referred to the Visitors Centre where you will have to apply for a day visitor’s card. It is important to note that no one will be able to enter the campus at the Visitors Centre without a formal identification document (e.g. ID book, driver's licence).

4. Dual-frequency card simplifies access to the campus

It is important to have your card ready on entering the campus.

This card will simplify access to the campus considerably, as the card reader will read the card when it is held in a vertical position at the driver’s side window in the direction of the distance reader. Please do not place the card on the dashboard. There is an antenna wire in the card. If the card is placed on the dashboard, you are not exposing the card surface to the reader, and that might influence the antenna’s response to the reader.

Remember, the distance between the reader and the boom is only a few metres.  If you approach the reader at a ’high’ speed, you are not allowing the system to identify your card, match it to the entry in the database, check if you are ‘legal’, and then send a signal to open the boom. 

All five gates are equipped with distance readers. Within the next three weeks, two extra distance readers will also be installed at the Main Gate in Nelson Mandela Drive.
 
Please note that the dual-frequency card is needed only when you enter the campus with a vehicle and you want to activate the distance reader. All the older cards will continue to work at the tag readers. 

5. Use alternative gates

At times, some of the gates carry more traffic than others, especially with the peak morning and afternoon traffic. Gates with less traffic include:

  • The gate in Badenhorst Street
  • The gate in DF Malherbe Drive
  • The gate in Nelson Mandela Drive

You are welcome to make use of one of these alternative gates.

6. Pedestrians

No pedestrian will be able to enter the Bloemfontein Campus without a valid access card. If you have left your card at home or have lost it, you should enter the campus at the gate in DF Malherbe Drive where the Visitors Centre is situated. You will be referred to the Visitors Centre where you can apply for a day visitor’s card. You will still need to produce a formal identification document (e.g. ID book, driver's licence).

7. More information

Email: visitorscentre@ufs.ac.za
Visitors Centre front desk: Tel: +27 51 401 7766 (Mondays-Fridays 07:45-16:30)
Card Division: Tel: +27 51 401 2799 (Mondays-Fridays 07:45-16:30)
Protection Services duty room: +27 51 401 2634 (24 hours)

 

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