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Wamkelekile, Welkom
Wamkelekile, Welkom
UCT awarded two of the four new critical health research units
Two of the four newly-launched South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Extramural Research Units (EMUs) to develop critical health research have been awarded to the University of Cape Town (UCT). The units, led by top African researchers, will strengthen the country’s health systems and counter diseases and pandemics such as COVID-19.
31 Aug 2022
Study finds Hout Bay community-based paramedics are effective and save lives
In case of an emergency, time is everything, as prolonged response times are thought to contribute to higher mortality rates. New research in the African Joural of Emergency Medicine found that Hout Bay Volunteer Emergency Medical Service (HBVEMS) managed to save lives by meeting a target of arriving on the scene within 15 minutes for life-threatening calls.
26 Aug 2022
Invite: Engaging high school learners on big data in genomics medicine
Public Understanding of Big data in Genomics Medicine in Africa (PUBGEM-Africa), in partnership with the mobile genomics in Africa project (mGenAfrica) and the Metro South District (MSED-WCED), will be engaging high school learners to foster literacy and interest in ethical, legal and social issues related to genomics and big data in medicine and healthcare on 27 August, 2022, at the University of Cape Town Faculty of Health Sciences (UCT FHS).
26 Aug 2022
UCT partners with University of Limpopo to boost drug discovery research capacity
The University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D) has partnered with the University of Limpopo (UL) on a project to boost drug discovery research capacity at this historically disadvantaged institution (HDI).
22 Aug 2022
Breeding biology of giant Australian thunderbirds paves way to extinction
Big bones from the extinct ‘thunder bird’ or dromornithid indicate that while their size and breeding cycle gradually changed over millennia, they ultimately could not keep pace with the environmental changes around them.
22 Aug 2022
Late autism diagnosis in males linked to mental distress
Late diagnosis of autism has significant negative ramifications. That’s according to the latest study by the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) researchers. The findings show that late diagnosis negatively impacts individuals’ psychological well-being due to factors such as social isolation, bullying and psychological distress caused by a lack of understanding of autism-related difficulties.
19 Aug 2022
Period poverty: empowering rural communities
University of Cape Town (UCT) master’s student Sharifa Negesa uses her vacations to go back home to Uganda to join a travelling cast of Girls Alive Uganda volunteers. They visit remote schools to teach menstrual hygiene and how to make reusable, sustainable sanitary pads with basic materials.
19 Aug 2022
Supporting adolescent mothers - psychosocial and mental health needs
It’s possible for adolescent mothers to lead happy, healthy and fulfilled lives with their loved ones. And providing them with adequate support that takes their needs and desires into consideration will help to accelerate this, according to University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Dr Elona Toska.
18 Aug 2022
Depression: caregivers of perinatally acquired HIV adolescents at high risk
A first-of-its-kind study by the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) mental health experts found that caregivers of perinatally acquired HIV (PHIV) adolescents were at high risk of depression. According to experts, the findings highlight the need for adequate intervention strategies to provide resources and social support to caregivers to improve their mental health.
17 Aug 2022
Intricacies of African customary marriages expose women to discriminatory practices - study
Lobola creates rigid gender roles, skewed beliefs of entitlement and ownership of women’s lives and bodies, as well as asymmetrical power relations. This is what Dr Pretty Mubaiwa, a recent PhD graduate, found based on her research, which critically interrogates the relationship between culture, violence against women (VAW), and the practice of human rights in Africa.
17 Aug 2022
UCT honours renowned women’s health champion in South Africa
Former head of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and the director of the university’s Gynaecological Cancer Research Centre (GCRC), Lynette Denny, was recently given a special thanksgiving event to honour and celebrate her decades of service to the women of low- and middle-income countries.
16 Aug 2022
Community partnerships key in preventing violence against women and children
Professor Shanaaz Mathews, the director of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Children’s Institute, dedicated her inaugural address as a full professor to the women and children who have lost their lives to violence. Her lecture titled, “Preventing violence against children and violence against women: Mapping intersections and finding solutions in the Global South”, focused on how beyond legislation, transformative community partnerships are needed too.
15 Aug 2022
UCT-led clinic in Khayelitsha at the forefront in fight against cervical cancer
As it intended almost three decades ago, the Khayelitsha Cervical Cancer Screening Project (KCCSP) has touched and changed the lives of thousands of women and adolescent girls living in Khayelitsha. The clinic is one of the community’s most prized possessions – bringing renewed hope in the global fight against cervical cancer.
11 Aug 2022
SA’s language learning policy needs to include African languages at universities
African-language-speaking students at South African universities must enjoy the same learning privileges afforded to English- and Afrikaans-speaking students. Changing South Africa’s language learning policy is crucial to this process and a fundamental step towards decolonising the education curricula in higher education institutions in the country.
10 Aug 2022