Foreign news
Peng Liyuan addresses video conference on World TB Day 2022
Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping and World Health Organization (WHO) goodwill ambassador for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS, attended a video conference for World Tuberculosis Day 2022 on Thursday.
“In recent years, thanks to the hard work of the WHO and the joint efforts of the international community, the world has made notable progress in the fight against TB,” Peng said.
“The Chinese government takes TB prevention and treatment very seriously and has incorporated it into the Healthy China strategy. Special funds have been set up, free follow-up examinations and anti-TB drugs are provided to patients, and more is being done to promote new diagnostic technologies and medicines. As a result, the TB cured rate has been kept above 90 percent,” she said.
Peng noted that the Chinese government and all sectors of society have been actively providing care for TB patients, ensuring that treatment is not affected by the pandemic.
She also shared her experience of being involved in TB prevention and control in the country, as she has visited many medical institutions, schools and communities in the past years.
“In China, more than one million volunteers are working to raise public awareness of TB prevention and treatment and to help and support TB patients,” she said.
March 24 marks the 27th World Tuberculosis Day. As one of the oldest infectious diseases, TB has plagued the world for centuries. Yet despite growing awareness and a stronger resolve to stamp it out, the disease continues to be relentless.
Foreign news
Nigerians lament over exorbitant UK visa application fees
Nigerians on Thursday expressed concern over the exorbitant charges for various UK visa application fees, calling on the Foreign Affairs Minister to look into that area.
This complaint was done in a vox-pop interviews by different UK applicants in the country.
Some of them, however, complained about not getting the value for money spent, and the service delivery is also not efficient.
Speaking on the matter, Mr. Ajayi Okon said that he feels they are beginning to make so much money out of Nigerians because most Nigerians love to go there based on proximity.
“I think it is high time the government intervenes; at times it looks like extortion to me. You will pay a priority visa, which is over a million naira, to get a response within 2 days.
“The next thing, you will get an email telling you because of high demand, it will take another 15 days, so what is the essence of the priority paid for?
“ If you are collecting money for a particular service, you should have factored in how you want to deliver efficient service.
However, Mrs. Sarah Mbah said that on the application portal, the self-service option, which is cheaper, is not accessible easily.
According to her, after paying so much on visa fees, you will still be denied without an option of appeal despite the money spent.
“I think the government needs to pay attention, especially in those areas of visa application to other countries.
“The fees are getting too high, and the service delivery is also not satisfactory. Nigerians will outright be denied without any right to appeal after paying so much.
“ I feel is not right; some cases should be allowed to appeal, especially looking at the resources involved, so people won’t feel cheated,“ she added.
Furthermore, Favor Adamu said that the perception is usually that it is people who have the resources that apply for UK visas, but the truth is, people save up for those fees.
She said that because of the high rate of migration, they usually suspect that everyone coming to their country won’t want to return, and based on that, they use that to denial people.
Adamu said based on this, the fees should not be too much, so such a person won’t feel cheated because they cannot even appeal the decision.
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