Relying on other people within the community for information is a reality faced by many South Africans.With the country currently being on lockdown for the next few weeks, getting accurate information regarding social services could be a nightmare.

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly shown us what it means to live in unprecedented times. In the following opinion piece, Michelle Groenewald – a lecturer in economics at the North-West University (NWU) – shares her views on some encouraging measures that have taken place of late. She asks the question: can South Africans demand a better tomorrow?

COVID-19. A denomination for a world epidemic that will live in infamy. In 1918 one-third of the world’s population became infected with a virus we now call the Spanish Flu. Millions died. More suffered. Endless story of those fateful years will forever be told.  

The world, and now more recently our nation, is faced with difficult times as the recent Covid-19 pandemic turns life as we know it upside down. A team at the Faculty of Engineering from the North-West University (NWU), in collaboration with other experts involved in this unsettling battle, is rising to the challenge to support our government in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

International postdoctoral fellows play an important role in spearheading postgraduate research activity at the North-West University (NWU). This type of internationalisation also supports the NWU’s drive to benefit society trough excellence in innovative learning and teaching and cutting edge research. 

When it comes to creating a hub of national and international knowledge, the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Optentia research focus area is leading the charge.

“President Cyril Ramaphosa’s lockdown of South Africa to combat the Covid-19 virus comes at the right time,” says an economist of the NWU Business School.

Generally social work is considered a stressful occupation due to the emotional demands on practitioners. One group of social workers that is particularly at risk for negative outcomes are those employed within the child protection practice setting, tasked with the statutory duty to protect children.

Globally, heart disease remains the leading cause of death among middle-aged adults, accounting for 40% of all deaths. An alarming 80% of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries such as South Africa.

Digitising South Africa’s 11 official languages could go a long way towards creating a truly multilingual society. Various projects are currently in progress at the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR), located at the North-West University (NWU), to create digital resources for the country’s official languages.