WSU COVID STUDY GETS TOP HUMAN SCIENCE NOMINATION

Ateam of Social Sciences researchers from WSU came in 3rd place, nationally, at the annual Human Sciences Research Council’s (HSRC) Medal for Social Sciences and Humanities awards after a recent nomination for their extraordinary research. As the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, a research team led by, Dr Nelly Sharpley, from the Department of Social Sciences undertook a study that focused on the impacts of the lockdown restrictions on funerals and customary practices in rural communities in the former Transkei region of the province.

“Looking at the high quality of nominees that submitted for this category, I am humbled with much affirmation that our growth is in the right direction. That as part of the university skills we are as equal as ever to our sister universities in the country,” said Sharpley.

She added that “where university skills are concerned we are as equal as ever to our sister universities in the country. We lack nothing to champion competitive scholarship globally and our geographical space is not a disadvantage to who we can be.”

The purpose of the research was to advise the provincial government and provincial command structures about measures to minimise the spread of the Covid-19 virus. It was also necessary to develop a deeper understanding of peoples experiences and responses.

“When the Covid-19 pandemic came to South Africa in March 2020, Eastern Cape Socio Economic Consultative Council (ECSECC) was called upon to support the provincial government and provincial command structures with effective and efficient decision-making through providing accurate and reliable data to guide decision-making, planning and risk mitigation,” Said Sharpley.

The study specifically focused on funerals which were considered high risk events. The team saw a necessity to enable relevant role-players to develop practices and guidelines that would meet both cultural and health needs of communities.

Sharpley said, “I am very excited and overwhelmed about the nomination because, for me, it confirms that the training that we have acquired as researchers from the university is on the right track. I was working with a very gifted team from my department, which proved to me that even with limited resources, we are on the right track.” Working hand-in-hand with the researchers was Professor Leslie Bank from the HSRC, who is also Adjunct Professor of Social Anthropology at WSU.

He said, “The significance of the study was to help cut back on the regulations around the conduction of funerals. For people in the rural areas, funerals are very sacred and we documented how the regulations affected the ceremony. Ultimately, it resulted in the reconsideration of the Covid regulations for funerals.”

Bank added, “Then nomination is fantastic because for a rural based institution to undertake such as study, (because the story of Covid focused more on big cities), it is very gratifying that as we tried to represented a marginalised group, we got recognition for that.”

by Ongezwa Sigodi