Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
01 November 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied
Dr Nomakhuwa Tabane
Dr Nomakhuwa Tabane is the Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of the Free State.

The first 1 000 days of a baby’s life, from conception to the age of two, constitute a critical period during which children’s brains form as many as 1 000 neural connections every second – a pace that will not be repeated in their lifetime.

These connections are the building blocks of every child’s future, which makes the role of a campaign like the First 1 000 Days vitally important. It highlights the importance of stimulation and learning from the earliest possible moments, good nutrition for expectant mothers, prevention of malnutrition of children, and early diagnosis of chronic, life-threatening illnesses and developmental disorders.

This is according to Dr Nomakhuwa Tabane, Head of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of the Free State (UFS). The campaign was promoted by Dr Tabane’s department in partnership with the Mother and Child Academic Hospital (MACAH) Foundation.  The annual campaign kicks off on 1 November each year.

“There are certain factors that can interfere with this process and result in irreversible damage to children’s brain development, poor growth, and compromised immunity. Those conditions include prematurity, ischaemic brain damage, and infections. These are also the top contributors to the neonatal mortality.

“In the one-month to 49-month-old period, the causes of mortality and morbidity that affect brain development and growth include respiratory illnesses like pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases, and malnutrition,” says Dr Tabane. 

Aims of the campaign

The First 1 000 Days initiative promotes excellent mother, infant, and child healthcare by supporting community-based programmes that drive the message of the importance of the first 1 000 days of life to teenagers, young adults, healthcare workers, and the public. This initiative aims to bring about interventions that can address the Under-5 Mortality Rates (U5MR), including Neonatal Mortality Rates (NMR), Infant Mortality Rates (IMR), and Perinatal Mortality Rates (PMR).

“The campaign also aims to improve the growth and development of children in their first 1 000 days of life from conception until they are two years old. It also aims to improve expectant mothers’ health and prevent and decrease maternal mortality in the Free State, as well as to prevent unwanted pregnancies, focusing on decreasing teenage pregnancies.”

According to Dr Tabane, the 2020 South African UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNIGME) estimate for U5MR was 32 deaths per 1 000 live births, NMR of 11 per 1 000 live births, and infant mortality rate (IMR) of 26 per 1 000 live births as compared to the Medical Research Council (MRC) estimate of U5MR of 28 per 1 000 live births, NMR of 12 per 1 000 live births and IMR of 21 per 1 000 live births (15).

South Africa behind other BRICS countries

Based on the 2020 UNIGME report, says Dr Tabane, South Africa has achieved the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) goals of NMR and the U5MR. South Africa’s indicators were much better than the UNIGME and the MRC 2020 estimates, but it still falls behind other BRICS countries.

“In contrast to other BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), UNIGME reports that in the same reporting period of 2020, China’s U5MR was seven per 1 000 live births, Brazil's 15 per 1 000 live births, and Russia's five per 1 000 live births (16). In 2020, the South African national in-hospital neonatal mortality rate (NMR) based on DHIS data was 12,0 per 1 000 live births; the infant mortality rate (IMR) was 15.1 per 1 000 live births, and the under-5 mortality (U5 MR) rate was 16.9 per 1 000 live births, with differences amongst provinces,” says Dr Tabane.

The first 1 000 days campaign’s interventions include education to prevent illnesses and deaths and promote good health, growth, and development. While many training programmes on child survival strategies have been rolled out (e.g., MSSN, HBB, ETAT, AANC, ESMOE, and IMCI), in-service training still has significant gaps.

Other interventions include preventing unwanted and unplanned pregnancies, providing healthcare support for therapeutic and interventional care, strengthening the implementation of the existing strategies developed by the Department of Health to reduce Maternal and Child Mortalities, and monitoring and evaluating the interventions.

News Archive

Qwaqwa Campus honours academic excellence
2017-05-18

Description: QQ autumn Graduation 2017 Tags: QQ autumn Graduation 2017

Photo: Ian van Straaten

Photo Gallery
Video


Qwaqwa Campus kicked off the 2017 graduations season of the University of the Free State in style when over 550 degrees and certificates were conferred in three sessions on 12 and 13 May 2017. These included five PhDs from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.

In his maiden speech delivered during the two ceremonies on Friday 12 May 2017, the newly-appointed Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Francis Petersen, emphasised the interconnectedness of graduates with other stakeholders in their communities.

“Never forget the role played by other people who sacrificed a lot for you to be here today. Recognise the extra mile that someone was willing to go for you to graduate,” he said to an enthusiastic audience that included Grade 12 learners from neighbouring schools. 

Prof Petersen also reminded the graduates that not everybody had an opportunity to enter, enrol, and eventually graduate at a university. “You are part of the privileged few, and I am confident that the UFS has given you an equal opportunity to reach your full potential. You have had years of exposure to ideas and experiences on diversity. You now have the opportunity to show the world and to use what you have learnt beyond a classroom,” he added.

“Go out there and open doors for others as much as they were opened for you. I implore you to carry over your experiences of diversity and use them to build a better world. Go out there and build a better world, not only for yourself but for everyone in need. Expand your influence, reach out, and be accountable,” he said.

“South Africa needs your skills,
innovation, knowledge, expertise,
and creativity.”

Make your own unique contribution
The session held on Saturday 13 May 2017 saw the Principal of Motheo TVET College and Qwaqwa Campus alumnus, Dipiloane Phutsisi, having a heart to heart with the graduates from the Faculty of Education.

“Our contribution to the world as graduates will not be measured by the wealth we accumulate or the accolades we receive, but rather by the way in which we share our unique gifts with the world. And the only place to find those gifts is to look within yourself. As the class of 2017, make your own unique contribution,” she said.

“Your graduation takes place at a particularly challenging time in the history of our democracy. It happens at a time when our nation is engulfed by racial polarisation, anger, confusion about what democracy and freedom mean to us, and at a time when the pillars of morality are tested.”

“As you graduate, I wish to remind you that our country needs you more than ever before. South Africa needs your skills, innovation, knowledge, expertise, and creativity,” she said.

Three members of the current SRC were also among the graduates. They are the President, Njabulo Mwali (BSc Information Technology), Sports Affairs Officer, Ntokozo Thango (BA Sociology), and Student Development and Environmental Affairs Officer, Ntokozo Masiteng (BA Sociology).

 

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