Professor Ashraf Mohammed, head of the CPUT HIV/Aids Unit was recently awarded by an independent foundation for spearheading programmes which strive towards achieving excellence in the HIV/AIDS programs.

The National Awqaf Foundation of South Africa awarded Mohammed at a gala dinner in honour of people who have excelled in the community and who have attained distinctions in their fields of expertise.

“This award is to me a validation and acknowledgment by an independent community organization of our work, and has further boosted the confidence of my staff as the achievement inspires them,” said an ecstatic Mohammed. 

Since receiving the award, two community organizations have approached the unit seeking collaboration in HIV/Aids programs in their respective communities.

“Furthermore, just recently I was invited as a guest in a community radio interview to discuss our HIV/Aids programs at CPUT and in the community,” he said.

The foundation said in a letter to Mohammed that he was selected because he is a role model in the community and the broader society.

Established in 2000 as an independent community-based and owned trust, the foundation is a charity organization which funds various community development projects.

By Kwanele Butana

Written by CPUT News
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Peer Educators, along with staff members of the CPUT HIV/AIDS Unit, are pulling out all the stops in order to raise awareness of the pandemic among first year students.

Currently the Unit is running a series of information-packed workshops and hosting special events in a bid to raise awareness around HIV/AIDS and the Unit's services.

The Unit, which is a division of Student Affairs and Services, aims to prevent, control and manage HIV/AIDS among students and staff at CPUT.

Curriculum Development Officer at the Unit, Jacki Bacela, said the programmes are up and running and that they have already reached a large number of students since the start of Orientation 2009.

The Unit has set up information stalls at registration venues at campuses, which are being staffed by Peer Educators.

A large number of student-friendly information booklets and leaflets have also been produced and are currently being distributed by Peer Educators.

Bacela said they are also holding several HIV/AIDS information sessions for first year students at venues across the campuses.

During the information sessions, students view a 30-minute information DVD , highlighting the activities and goals of the HIV/AIDS Unit.

They also have an opportUnity to interact with staff members of the Unit and ask questions related to HIV/AIDS.

Bacela said one of the strategic objectives of the Unit is to incorporate HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Tuberculosis into curricula.

During the year, the Unit will run various interactive workshops with students.

“Last year we had a good intake of students,” she said.

On completion of the workshops, students will be awarded certificates.

The Unit also focuses on student and staff training and hosting of awareness campaigns. They also facilitate the Student Peer Education Programme and are involved in community outreach programmes and workplace programmes.

Services offered by the Unit include Volunteer Counseling and Testing and Care and Support. Members of the Unit are also involved in HIV/AIDS research.

By Candes Keating, Marketing and Communication Department

For more information on HIV/AIDS prevention, control and management, contact the following:

HIV/AIDS Unit
Cape Town Campus: Admin Building , Room 2.500A
Tel: +27 +21 460 4253 E-mail. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CPUT Health Services
Bellville: +27 +21 959 6403
Cape Town : +27 +21 460 3405
Mowbray: +27 +21 680 1555
Wellington : +27 +21 864 5206

Student Counselling
Cape Town : +27 +21 460 3237
Bellville: +27 +21 959 6182

Written by CPUT News
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Annually, the world sets aside one day a year in an effort to raise awareness of the Tuberculosis (TB) pandemic that plagues Southern Africa .

This year, the CPUT HIV/AIDS Unit based at the Cape Town Campus hosted a pledge ceremony on 25 March 2009, a day after World TB Day, in collaboration with the Campus Health Clinic and Student Counselling Services.

This TB awareness ceremony took place on the Helipad of the Granger Bay campus with the theme “I am stopping TB”.

Approximately 250 guests, which included staff and students, gathered to witness the reading and signing of the TB Pledge developed by Dr Ashraf Mohammed Head of the HIV/AIDS Unit.

As a symbolic gesture, student HIV/Aids Peer Educators, Peer Helpers from the Counseling Services and Community Youth Peer Educators from Mitchell’s Plein released ten homing pigeons to represent the goal of breaking free from TB.

During the ceremony various speakers delivered presentations on TB. Marius Harmsen, a Health Promoter at the HIV/AIDS Unit, related his personal battle for survival with TB.

Other speakers were Dr Espe Makinde from the Cape Town Campus Health Clinic who shared her personal experiences of from a medical perspective and Sister Sylvia Abrahams from the HIV/AIDS Unit, who highlighted that TB was curable and stressed the need to complete full six months TB treatment.

TB is primarily transmitted as airborne bacteria and if detected early and treated with proper consistent medication, it can be cured within six months and thus prevent the further spread of TB.

Dr Mohammed, who cited from a published article, said that an estimated 1.5 million people died from TB in 2006 alone and an additional 200, 000 people died as a result of HIV associated TB.

“This was one of the main reasons why the HIV/AIDS Unit took on the project of developing the TB Pledge,” said Dr Mohammed.

“The TB Pledge also advises that signatories should seek help at their nearest health facility for TB screening if they experience two or more signs and symptoms described there,” advised Dr Mohammed.

During the event, the Peer Educators gathered as many signatures as possible to emphasise the CPUT community’s commitment to gaining awareness on TB and HIV/AIDS related matters.

By Thando J. Moiloa

Written by CPUT News
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Consistent with its resolve to produce not only qualified but also healthy graduates, CPUT students have access to wellness services from the HIV/AIDS Unit.

Situated in the Administration Building on the Cape Town Campus, the unit aims to prevent and control HIV/Aids, sexually transmitted infections and works tirelessly to attend to the holistic wellbeing of all students.

It conducts research, runs awareness campaigns, community outreach programmes, and is also actively involved in curriculum integration of HIV/AIDS, STIs and TB.

Students at the Bellville Campus can access the unit’s services at its satellite office on the campus, while those at other campuses have access to the healthcare services via the Mobile Unit.

Services include walk-in HIV Counseling and Testing Services, a Peer Education Program, Internship as well as Volunteer Programs.

Among several campaigns run by the unit, students can also look forward to a Youth Leadership Conference which is planned for the first Semester.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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The Department of Biomedical Sciences recently collaborated with the South African Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) for the annual Bone Marrow Drive at the Bellville Campus.

The SABMR helps to find matching donors for patients needing a bone marrow transplant and who do not have a match within their own families.

Biomedical Sciences lecturer, Rizqa Siebritz, said the Bone Marrow Drive aims to bring awareness of the importance of being a donor in the hope of giving someone else a better tomorrow.

“My students in the Haematology II Biomedical Sciences Department volunteer to assist in spreading awareness of the bone marrow donation process and how easy it is to become a donor.”

Nadia Chalkley, head of donor recruitment for the SABMR, said drives like the one at CPUT were critical “because it helps us really focus in terms of the demographic we want to recruit to our registry”.

“The South African Bone Marrow Registry , even though we have 78 000 current donors, [they] are predominantly Caucasian, and we really need to diversify if we want to service all our patients in South Africa and in Africa. So, not only diversifying the registry in demographic terms, but giving patients a better outcome, really is what this is about. And it's obviously always wonderful working with CPUT, they're so efficient in the implementation of the service-learning agreement that it makes sense for us to partner with CPUT through events like this, through lectures and hopefully more to come this year.”

The Bone Marrow Drive was followed by a virtual online talk by Canadian partner, Sylvia Okonofua, from Black Donors Save Lives. It was titled: “A needle in a haystack: What are the odds it’s going to be you?”

The aim was to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the donor population in order to increase the chances of finding donors for patients in the same genetic pool.

Other partners in the drive included:

• Childhood Cancer Foundation (CHOC)
• Organ Donor Foundation (Save Seven Lives)
• Vitanova (Tissue Bank)
• Western Cape Blood Services.
• CPUT Student Counselling
• CPUT HIV/Aids Unit

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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