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UFS hosts the South African Paediatric Association conference

06 October 2023 | Story Reuben Maeko | Photo SUPPLIED

Dr Tabane — Dr Lizzy Tabane, Head of Paediatrics and Child Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State, gives a message of support at the 2023 SAPA Conference.

The Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of the Free State (UFS) recently hosted the 2023 South African Paediatric Association conference (SAPA) in Sandton, Johannesburg, with more than 200 doctors, specialists and registrars in attendance.

The conference aimed to provide high-quality, evidence-based updates on children’s health issues and research in health care. The three-day conference focused on presentations from various paediatricians in South Africa’s health sectors.

Conference presentations

The conference explored new ways of treating different types of childhood diseases, and covered a range of topics such as learning disabilities and inclusive education, sports for children with asthma, septic shock, dyslipidaemia in children, congenital heart disease among others.

Collaborations with healthcare professionals

Head of Paediatrics and Child Health at the UFS, Dr Lizzy Tabane and her colleagues, Dr Mampoi Jonas and Prof Ute Hallbauer, were pleased with the success and outcome of the conference.

According to Dr Tabane, the professionals gather once a year to learn, exchange ideas and work together to ensure the best possible care for children in hospitals.

“The SAPA conference presents health professionals across South Africa with the latest information on paediatric health. It also ensures that children in our country continue to receive quality care through an integrated approach by allowing health professionals to connect, network, and share their knowledge and expertise,” said Dr Jonas.

“The country and the community at large are in good hands,” said Dr Tabane. “Let us not fall behind but catch up with the latest innovations, for instance, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Medicine. Our partnership with all paediatrics and other health professionals will bring unity and good child health care in our country."

“What is important is the tremendous support from all the specialists, doctors and practice nurses from different health-care departments who have consistently turned out in large numbers. The success of the conference extends beyond GPs, such as drawing in specialists, clinicians, nurses, and professionals dedicated to children’s well-being within hospitals and the community,” emphasised Dr Tabane.

Significance of the conference

Prof Hallbauer emphasised the significance of fostering collaboration to enhance integrated care, spanning both the hospital system and primary care. “This annual conference confirms our commitment to working together as doctors for the well-being of our patients. The motto we have chosen is Carpe Diem ‘Seize the Day’. For the conference this means taking hold of the programme and making the most of each conference day.

“When you meet your colleagues, build and strengthen the collegial networks, so that we can realise Letshwele le beta phoho – a SeSotho idiom meaning ‘The crowd beats the bull’,” added Prof Hallbauer.

This conference “will strengthen our relationship” with other doctors and make the health system a better place, concluded Prof Hallbauer.

News Archive

Research project gives insight into the world of the deaf

2005-11-30

Mr Akach in conversation (using sign language) with his assistant Ms Emily Matabane. Photo: Lacea Loader

UFS research project gives insight into the world of the deaf

The Sign Language Division of the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Afro-Asiatic Studies and Language Practice and Sign Language has signed a bilateral research project with the universities of Ghent and Brussels to write a book on sign language.

“We want to compare the Belgium and South African sign languages with each other. The book will be about the deaf telling us about themselves and how they live. It will also focus on the use of story telling techniques and the grammar used by deaf people. We want to see if the hand forms and the grammatical markers and other linguistic features that deaf people from these two countries use are the same or not,” said Mr Philemon Akach, lecturer at the UFS Sign Language Division and coordinator of the research.

According to Mr Akach, the sign language community in South Africa, with about 600 000 deaf people who use South African Sign Language (SASL) as first language, is quite big. “Over and above the deaf people in South Africa, there are also the non-deaf who use SASL, like the children of deaf parents etc. This book can therefore be used to teach people about the deaf culture,” he added.

Another of Mr Akach’s achievements is his election as Vice-President of the newly established World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI). The association was established earlier this month during a conference in Worcester.

Mr Akach has been actively involved with sign language interpretation since 1986 and has been interpreting at the World Congress of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) since 1987. “My appointment as Vice-President of the WASLI is an emotional one. I have been involved with deaf people for so long and have been trying to create awareness and obtain recognition for sign language, especially in Africa,” said Mr Akach. WASLI is affiliated to the WFD.

According to Mr Akach there was no formal structure in the world to support sign language and sign language interpreters. “Now we have the backup of WASLI and we can convince governments in other African countries and across the world to support deaf people by supporting WASLI and therefore narrow the communication gap between the deaf and the hearing. My main aim as Vice-President is to endeavour for the recognition of sign language and spoken language interpreters as a profession by governments,” he said.

According to Mr Akach the formal training of interpreters is of vital importance. “Anybody who has a deaf person in his/her family and can communicate in sign language can claim that they are an interpreter. This is not true. It is tantamount to think that all mother tongue or first language speakers are interpreters. Likewise students who learn sign language up to whatever level and are fluent in signing, should still join an interpreter’s programme,” he said.

“Sign language interpreting is a profession and should be presented as an academic course alongside other spoken languages. The UFS has been taking the lead with sign language and spoken language interpretation and was the first university on the African continent to introduce sign language as an academic course,” he said.

“Although sign language has always been an unknown language to young people it has become quite popular in recent years. This year we had a total of 160 students at the Sign Language Section of the UFS and the numbers seem to increase steadily every year,” he said.

Mr Akach’s assistant, Ms Emily Matabane, is deaf and they communicate in sign language. Ms Matabane also handles the tutorials with students to give them hands-on experience on how to use sign language.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
30 November 2005

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