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THREE-SIXT-E | ALUMNI E-NEWSLETTER | ISSUE 8/MARCH 2014
MUTHI: Building Science around Traditional Medicines Herbal medicine is a popular form of healthcare in Africa. However, the reliability and efficacy of traditional medicine may often not be as established as conventional pharmaceutical medicines. Since 2011, through the South African Herbal Science and Medicine Institute (SAHSMI) in the Faculty of Natural Sciences, UWC has been collaborating with three African and four European universities (the University of the Free State, the University of Bamako in Mali, Makerere University in Uganda, the Universities of Oslo and Bergen, both in Norway, the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and the University of Oxford in the UK) in a consortium called the Multi-disciplinary University Traditional Health Initiative (MUTHI). MUTHI is funded by the European Union Framework Programme, which seeks to refine the science applied to traditional medicines, and to build sustainable research capacity on plants for better public health in Africa. “We have randomised clinical trials for pharmaceutical medicines, but we do not know as much about traditional medicines with regard to safety, efficacy and effectiveness,” explains SAHSMI director, Professor Gail Hughes. “We are using this initiative to develop research tools and
This photo was taken while Ashley Forbes was being transported to the border.
The 1980s - the age of young lions The 1980s at UWC were marked by a radical level of student activism not even seen in 1976.
skills for phytomedicine while creating sustainabilty through training current and future scientists and researchers. Our focus is to have better documented scientific knowledge on traditional medicines.” MUTHI is divided into several work packages, each led by a MUTHI partner with expertise in: medical anthropology and ethnopharmacology; quality control, bioactivity and safety of phytomedicines and nutraceuticals; clinical trials and traditional medicine efficacy; and ethics and intellectual property rights. UWC leads the effort to create a training platform for clinical trials. SAHSMI partnered with UWC's Centre for Innovative Educational
and Communication Technologies to develop six e-learning modules for clinical trials of traditional medicines (http://muthi. uwc.ac.za) and also developed an accredited Clinical Trials and Indigenous Herbal Medicine postgraduate course through UWC's School of Public Health (contact taparker@uwc.ac.za or telephone 021 959 2509 for more information). The tangible accomplishments of the MUTHI project will remain at UWC's Faculty of Natural Sciences beyond the funding cycle: training and capacity building of both faculty and students in five key phytomedicine areas, continued training using the e-learning platform and postgraduate course, templates for memoranda of understanding and intellectual property, and a repository of bioassays and standard operating procedures for future research.
Ethnobotanical survey training in Kampala, Uganda. UWC SAHSMI master's students, Tarryn Blouws and Denver Davids (centre, back), with other participants.
In the thick of things was a young Wynberg man who featured in a trial that signposted the beginning of the end of apartheid for many people in the Western Cape. After matriculating, Ashley Forbes registered to do the LSTD diploma at UWC in 1982. He was already a seasoned activist and student leader. "None of my siblings studied at UWC” he says. “I wanted to teach but my primary motivation for attending UWC was to get more involved in the struggle. I even switched to Physical Education in 1983 because I saw it as an opportunity to train in preparation for joining Umkhonto weSizwe!" After being recruited to MK by UWC student, Cecyl Esau, Ashley left the country for Angola (he later completed his BA on Robben Island). He returned to Cape Town with alumnus Peter Jacobs, but both were arrested in May 1987. Some months later, two other UWC students
were arrested trying to cross the border and more arrests followed. The ensuing trial revealed MK's strong presence in the Western Cape, and at UWC. Eleven of the fifteen accused were UWC students or alumni. "The political education I got at UWC was priceless. When I think of the debates we had on the lawns and in the cafeteria, the marches amid chants of 'Hek toe!', even the stone throwing – I think students now lack that spirit that we had, that conviction and confidence that we could change things." "Historians haven't properly captured the role of UWC students in the struggle. They were the young lions – confident, aware, even fearless – and they had a huge radicalising influence on schools and youth organisations in the mid-1980s."
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