Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS launches two public health programmes

31 October 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons

What started seven years ago as a dream, came to fruition in October 2024, when the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) officially launched two new programmes, the Master of Public Health and PhD Public Health in the Division of Public Health (DPH).

In his welcome address, Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, said it is a significant milestone launching these particularly important programmes in the faculty. The launch took place on 24 October 2024 at the James Moroka Building on the Bloemfontein Campus. These programmes are dedicated to recognising and responding to complex national and global public health challenges through high-quality research, teaching and learning, and engaged scholarship.

Prof Bonang Mohale, UFS Chancellor, and Dr BE Mzangwa, Acting Deputy Director General of the Free State Department of Health and CEO of the Universitas Academic Hospital, were also in attendance, while Mr Ramphelane Morewane, Deputy Director General of HIV/AIDS, TB, Maternal and Child Health, in the National Department of Health, delivered a congratulatory message virtually.

Said Prof Van Zyl: “The vision of the public health dream in the faculty started with a small group of us having a discussion on taking public health forward. At that first meeting we already agreed on an action plan. We knew then if we kept true to this dream, we would have success, but this success would not be for us. It would be for the influence of the lives of many postgraduate students that will enrol in the programmes in this division and uplift themselves by getting a quality and relevant qualification. Ready to serve the bigger community.

“For those who are part of the vision of the public health dream, remember the dream and vision, continue with the collaborative efforts and spirit, remain committed to the dream and do everything that is needed to allow it to excel, and never forget the core values we embraced at the beginning when we started this dream,” said Prof Van Zyl.

Addressing public health challenges

Prof Anthea Rhoda, Acting UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal, said in a video message that the launch marks a significant milestone symbolising the beginning of an academic endeavour aligned with Vision 130, which emphasises academic excellence, quality and impact.

“Today’s launch represents a crucial step in the Faculty of Health Sciences’ commitment to address public health challenges within our communities, nationally, as well as globally. It also represents a crucial step in the University of the Free State’s dedication to tackling public health challenges that are prevalent in our communities.

“The Division of Public Health aspires to be engaging, diversifying public health through innovative, global responsive research. Public health, as is common knowledge, is the study and practice of safeguarding and improving the well-being of individuals and community. It includes the promotion of healthy lifestyles, the prevention of diseases and efforts to control infectious illnesses,” said Prof Rhoda.

She said it should be remembered that public health encompasses more than a simple field of study, it’s a commitment to service, and a promise to make a positive impact in the world. She is confident that this new programme will contribute significantly to the academic prestige of the UFS and will be a source of innovative solutions to the complex health challenges of the times.

Programmes in high demand

According to Prof Joyce Tsoka-Gwegweni, Vice-Dean: Research, Transformation, and Marketing and Head of the DPH, they only enrolled the first cohort of students in the second semester of 2023.

“During that time, we enrolled six Master of Public Health students and 14 PhDs. This year we enrolled 26 students, 13 in each programme. Currently we have 46 students. 19 Masters’ of Public Health and 27 PhD students, of which 90% are black female students. We also have international students from Lesotho, Namibia and Kenya. The quality of our students is very high. They are already working in health-related institutions and most of them are in leadership positions.

“For the coming year, 2025, we have already received 224 applications for the Master of Public Health programme and 30 for the PhD. We can only accommodate 30. Our programmes are already in high demand nationally and on the continent. They address a range of public health topics of national and international importance,” said the Vice-Dean.

Prof Tsoka-Gwegweni said because of the quality of staff and the quality and relevance of the programmes, their multidisciplinary nature, sustainability, and responsiveness to local, national and global public health challenges, these programmes are contributing to the UFS vision of achieving academic excellence, quality and impact; maximum societal impact with sustainable relationships; and of achieving a diverse, inclusive equitable university.

Health and prevention are primary

Prof Geoffrey Setswe, the Managing Director of the Aurum Research Institute, delivered the keynote address, saying public health, unlike medicine and nursing is not about treating individual patients, but focuses on the maintenance of promotion of health at a population level. Health and prevention are primary. He also talked about the public health pathways and career options in this field.

The best-known elements of public health, he said, are health promotion, environmental health, surveillance, communicable disease prevention, communication, health equity, emergency preparedness, harm reduction and home visiting programmes.

“The South African public health system is rebuilding itself and working to enhance health and well-being by implementing the NHI that will enable access to high quality, people-centred and integrated health care for all South Africans. Public health training must have multisectoral applications for public health careers, specialisation and advanced education providing life experiences and related expertise for people with diverse origins and ethical motivations,” he said.

According to Prof Setswe, this model will help in the training of public health professionals to deal with the quadruple burden of communicable diseases (HIV, TB, sepsis), non-communicable diseases (cancers, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases), injuries from crime and violence (including GBV), and mental health (including depression, para-suicide, risk behaviour, harmful substance abuse) and maternal and child health.

Click to view document Click and watch the official launch below:

Prof Bonang Mohale, UFS Chancellor, also attended the launched the new Division of Public Health programmes.

Prof Geoffrey Setswe, the managing director of the Aurum Research Institute delivered the keynote address.

Prof Joyce Tsoka-Gwegweni, Vice-Dean: Research, Transformation, and Marketing and Head of the DPH, gave a short history of the DPH.

News Archive

Legal elite tackle thorny issue of corruption

2013-01-24

Our Faculty of Law brought together top experts and judges for a Symposium on Corruption, to investigate one of the most pressing concerns of South Africans.
Photo: Stephen Collett
24 January 2013

YouTube Video

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng yesterday (24 January 2013) concluded the proceedings of the first day of the International Symposium on Corruption, hosted by the Faculty of Law of the University of the Free State (UFS). In his address Justice Mogoeng made no excuses as to the magnitude of the threat corruption presents to South African citizens.

“Urgent action and efficient measures are called for to arrest this scourge, for the sake of our constitutional democracy,” he warned. “Our vibrant constitutional democracy will not and cannot survive in the face of rampant corruption.”

Justice Mogoeng said the spate of civil and labour unrest erupting throughout the country can be attributed to corruption. According to him the scope and far-reaching implications of corruption drives South Africans to “boiling point” and evokes “anger, frustration and a don’t-care-attitude that often manifests in widespread protest actions” and disrespect for the rule of law.

“South Africans, irrespective of race or creed, must identify and focus on their common enemies and find a conciliatory and unifying way of dealing with what divides them, including the lingering prejudices of the past,” Justice Mogoeng urged.

Despite the threat corruption poses, he stressed that all South Africans have a role to play in the fight against corruption and that there are different role players that can become involved in the process. Especially important is the media and faith-based agencies which, according to Justice Mogoeng, can regenerate morals and secure a “national moral code.” The State must further ensure enforcement of anti-corruption measures and preside over the selection of individuals of “solid character” to reside in agencies meant to fight corruption.

He highlighted the need for an unbiased and independent judiciary, one immune to outside influences controlled by powerful forces, as well as personal agendas.

Although Justice Mogoeng believes that the private sector is most guilty of transgressions based on corruption, he stated that a “well-coordinated war” against it must be waged in all sectors in order to stamp it out.

Justice Mogoeng presided over the unveiling of the redesigned foyer of the CR Swart Building and praised the Faculty of Law for its innovation with regard to the symposium.

“I look forward with great optimism to more well-organised symposiums that strike at the nerve-centre of the well-being of our constitutional democracy,” he concluded.

Symposium seeks answers and solutions

The Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) concluded its International Symposium on Corruption on Friday 25 January 2013. The event featured a stellar cast of speakers, including the Chief Justice of South Africa, three current Supreme Court of Appeal judges, high-court judges, advocates, prosecutors, journalists, as well as local and international legal academics.

Throughout the two-day symposium, corruption was dissected as a severe problem in the South African socio-economic landscape and solutions were sought to alleviate the pressing concern.

The main attractions of the symposium were undoubtedly the attendance and presentations delivered by Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, as well as Prof. Leon Wessels. Prof. Wessels was described as “one of the founding fathers of the constitution of South Africa” by Judge Fritz Brand, a current Appeal Court judge and the third-longest serving judge in the country.

“Corruption is stealing the constitutional dream of this country. Corrupt leaders are fearless, those who expose corruption, are fearful,” Prof. Wessels warned.

Judge Brand closely trails the second longest serving judge in the country in former Kovsie, as well as former UFS Council Chairman, Judge Faan Hancke. Both judges addressed the symposium and chaired sessions, along with Prof. Johan Henning, Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Judge Ian van der Merwe, Chairman of the UFS Council.

It was, however, not all doom and gloom, as several of the speakers offered tangible ideas in what was often termed the “war on corruption”. Celebrated Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika who has been arrested following the police leasing scandal which he exposed, urged South Africans to stand together in their fight against corruption, before it is too late.

People on the front lines in the day to day fight against corruption also spoke at the symposium, giving the audience a better understanding of the intricacies and challenges involved in the process. The Head of the National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit, Mr Willie Hofmeyer, as well as Advocate Xolisile Khanyile, who is the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Free State, elucidated this struggle.

The symposium also hosted Prof. Chizu Makajima, a celebrated academic from the United Kingdom.

The two-day symposium ended in style as the delegates gathered in the Centenary Hall on the Bloemfontein Campus for lunch, with a further address by Prof. Leon Wessels

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

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