The North-West University (NWU), together with the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), are working together to explore the role of African medicine in a pandemic.

They held an inaugural research webinar on Thursday, 6 August, where issues surrounding Covid-19 and the impact the pandemic has had on higher education were unpacked.

A better understanding was provided by the fields of humanities, social sciences and indigenous knowledge systems.
This inaugural webinar’s theme was “The Future of African Medicine in Epidemic Preparedness and Response” and was the first of a seven-part series.

In an article, Professor Pamela Maseko, NWU’s executive dean of the Faculty of Humanities, said the webinars aim to influence learning, teaching and research and develop sustainable regional and continental research collaborations.

Dr Aunkh H Chabalala, the national director of the indigenous knowledge-based technology innovation (IKTI) unit of the Department of Science and Innovation, led this discussion. He said epidemics have always been a part of the existence of humankind and will always be. “The Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated that no one type of health system or model is sufficient to handle all aspects of preparedness and response,” he said.

Besides the future of African medicine during an epidemic and the readiness and the response to it, the webinar also covered African indigenous knowledge systems in addressing future diseases in South Africa, the continent, and globally.