Change the world

23/11/2022

‘Active Healthy Children in Marginalised Communities: Challenges, Achievements, and Vision for the Future’ was the topic of a public lecture by Honorary Professor Uwe Pühse, Professor of Sport Science at the University of Basel, Switzerland, and Director of the Department of Sport, Exercise and Health. The lecture was hosted by the Faculty of Health Sciences.

Professor Pühse and the Faculty’s Human Movement Sciences Department have a long-standing relationship with a 10-year trilateral collaboration between Nelson Mandela University, the University of Basel and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

The international partnership has fostered the development of the Kazibantu Programme, comprising school-based interventions for physical education to ensure the physical literacy and healthy active living of school children and teachers in South Africa. This is critical given the new and changing lifestyles driving societies towards inactivity and unhealthy habits.

The programme is supported through KaziKidz focusing on children’s health and KaziHealth on teachers’ health. These initiatives are strongly driven by inter-disciplinary partnerships comprising Biokinetics, Sport and Exercise Science, Dietetics, Nursing, Psychology, Medical Laboratory Sciences, and public health. More recently the School of Architecture has become involved in KaziPlay (a playground and sanitation improvement initiative).

Furthermore, the programme has also led to the conception of evidence-based research from two large studies (KaziBantu and KaziAfya), involving South Africa, Tanzania, Ivory Coast and Switzerland.

Public lecture link: https://lnkd.in/dfxW2KhE

From left, Human Movement Sciences’ Prof Cheryl Walter, Honorary Professor Uwe Pühse, DVC Learning and Teaching Prof Cheryl Foxcroft, Executive Dean of Health Sciences Prof Zukiswa Zingela, Deputy Dean Prof Dalena van Rooyen and Prof Rosa du Randt. 

Contact information
Ms Elma de Koker
Internal Communication Practitioner
Tel: 041-504 2160
elma.dekoker@mandela.ac.za