Health workers get easy visa to UK

Government launches Health and Care Visa to ensure UK health and care services have access to the best global talent

The new Health and Care Visa will make it cheaper, quicker and easier for healthcare professionals from around the world to come to the UK.

The Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Health and Social Care have today announced the new Health and Care Visa will be launched this Summer, creating a new fast-track visa route for eligible health and care professionals and delivering on a key manifesto commitment.

They have also today announced further details on how the exemption to the Immigration Health Surcharge will work for health and care staff, who will now be permanently exempt from this charge.

The Home Secretary and Health and Social Care Secretary have together developed the Health and Care Visa to demonstrate the government’s commitment to deliver for the NHS and wider health and care sector. It is designed to make it easier and quicker for the best global health professionals to work in the NHS, for NHS commissioned service providers, and in eligible occupations in the social care sector.

The legislation needed to open this new route will be laid in Parliament today and health professionals will be able to apply from August.

The new Health and Care Visa will come with a reduced visa application fee compared to that paid by other skilled workers, including exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge. Health and care professionals applying on this route can also expect a decision on whether they can work in the UK within just three weeks, following biometric enrolment. Those working in health and social care who do not qualify for the Health and Care Visa will still be able to claim a reimbursement from the Immigration Health Surcharge if they have paid this on or after 31 March.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

We are indebted to overseas health and care professionals for their tremendous contributions, not just in saving thousands of lives throughout this crisis, but for the vital role they play year-round.

This new visa is part of our new immigration system making it quicker, cheaper and easier for the best and brightest health and care professionals from around the globe to work in our brilliant NHS.

Health and care professionals from all over the world have played a vital role in hospitals and care homes across the country fighting coronavirus. The introduction of the Health and Care Visa follows a number of unprecedented measures to show the UK’s gratitude to health workers from overseas.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock said:

Our health and care system has always had a proud tradition of welcoming overseas staff to work, train and live in the UK, and I’m proud that the NHS is a destination of choice for talented people from around the world.

The unwavering commitment, skill and compassion staff have shown during the fight against this deadly virus is nothing short of phenomenal, and the reimbursement of the immigration health surcharge recognises the enormous contribution of those who have come to the UK to work in health and social care.

I’m incredibly proud of our health and care workforce and look forward to welcoming new professionals from across the globe to continue the fantastic work to ensure our health system remains the best in the world.

Right across the immigration system the Home Office is already supporting frontline healthcare staff through initiatives such as visa extensions and the creation of the bereavement scheme.

The Prime Minister has previously announced that health and social care workers will be permanently exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge going forward, and Immigration Health Surcharge payments made since 31 March will also be refunded.

As part of the launch of the Health and Care Visa, those who apply via the visa and their dependants will be exempt from the Immigration Health Surcharge. The government has already began refunding Immigration Health Surcharge payments for any healthcare professionals on Tier 2 visas who have paid since 31 March 2020, and this process will continue. More information will be published on the Immigration Health Surcharge GOV.UK pages for customers to contact us directly if they believe they are due a refund. The Department of Health and Social Care is currently working with the sector to set up operational arrangements for reimbursing health and social care staff outside the scope of the Health and Care visa. These arrangements will commence from 1 October in 6 month reimbursements.

The new Health and Care Visa will apply to eligible roles within the health and care sector. The events of recent months have illustrated just what a crucial role the care sector plays in UK society. The government is working closely with the sector to support and recognise the contributions of care workers. This includes a widespread focus on training and introducing a proper career structure to provide opportunities for those in the sector and makes it an attractive profession for prospective carers.

The independent Migration Advisory Committee has been very clear that immigration is not the answer to the challenges in the social care sector and, as we implement the new immigration system, we want employers to focus on investing in our domestic workforce.

Source: www.gov.uk

Coronavirus: Nigerian Law Makers support compensation for families.of fallen health workers

The House of Representatives have called for greater harmony between the Federal government and health workers insisting that there is need for a health care system that average Nigerian can be proud of.

Chairman, House Committee on Health Services, Hon. Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu said the leadership of the House of Representatives under the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila appreciates the health workers for not embarking on industrial strike at this period of Covid-19 Pandemic.

According to Dr. Sununu, who paid a courtesy visit to the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) executive in Abuja on Thursday said, “My visit is part of the agenda of House of Representatives under the leadership of the Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila which includes the promotion of gualitative health care services. The speaker in his wisdom realised that when there is harmony between the stakeholders in the sector, then progress will be made.

“The Covid -19 pandemic has exposed the health system and we are in a situation where the haves and have-nots are situated in the same place and so no one travels. We must therefore ensure that our health infrastructure is improved.

“We are here also to thank the health workers for not embarking on strike, and for interfacing when FCT chapter when they threatened to embark on strike.

“There is need for a health care system that average Nigerians can be proud of. Every person is important under this government. Without the services of lower cadre the higher professional cannot carry out their job. We must manage our differences to ensure we understand ourself and move the country forward. We must come together to rescue this nation.

“We are not unmindful of our health workers in the frontline who paid the ultimate price. This is why we are working out a plan to compensate their families.

“A committee has been set up. We will call for a public hearing where the strategy and method to be used in disbursing the compensations will be agreed on. The families of the deceased will be located and we must ensure the money reaches them.

“Our aim is to ensure there is no disharmony anymore in the health sector. We are reaching out to major stakeholders and negotiating their demands to ensure health workers continue with their work with no hitches or grievances.”

Earlier, the chairman of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), Comrade Biobelemoye Josiah had congratulated Dr. Sununu for his emergence as Chairman, House Committee on Health Services and assured him of the preparedness of the health workers to work with the authorities.

He informed the Reps delegation that MHWUN only recently distributed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) which includes face masks, sanitizers and disinfectants to its members to its members to help the increasing infection rate among health workers in Nigeria.

National President Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Josiah Biobelemoye who urged the legislative and executive arms of government to prioritise the needs and demands of healthcare workers, warned that the delayed payment of deferred and adjusted salaries was a ticking time bomb.

Commending the efforts and concern of the National Assembly in the welfare of healthcare workers including the steps being taken to back the consolidated revenue provision of 1 percent by law, he called for increased funding of the health sector and budgetary provision to fund the salary adjustments.

“We are doing so much and our people are showing so much understanding within this period because its COVID time but you can’t expect people to be patient all through for ever.

“Government said there is no money but they are planning to pay private school teachers who are not even under the employment of government. We that are in the fore front contending with the salvage how will you then explain to us government does not have the money to pay our deferred salaries of April and May 2018, and the withheld salaries in FMC Owerri, JUTH, LUTH and others. How will you convince us?

“We are not against government trying to help out private schools, but if you are helping the private schools why can’t you help us. Is it justifiable to keep the salaries of those who are in the war front?

“We are appealing to the executive; quickly address these matters because they are ticking time bombs and they should not allow them to be detonated before they come to the rescue because any detonated bomb does not have positive results, its always negative,” Biobelemoye warned.

It would be recalled that MHWUN recently distributed are 15,200 hand sanitizers, 2,000 pieces of disinfectant and 1,200 pieces of hand wash to its members across the 36 states of the Federation.

Kalu hails Buhari's appointment of Obioma as NECO Registrar

The Spokesperson of Nigeria's House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has described President Muhammadu Buhari's appointment of Prof. Godswill Obioma as Registrar of the National Examinations Council, NECO, as the right fit for the exam body.

While expressing support to Buhari over the appointment, Kalu noted, in a statement, that the job came at a time NECO was confronting several challenges trying to undermine its operations such as regaining its integrity, solving infrastructural and technological deficits among others.

The lawmaker expressed confidence that Obioma's breadth of experience, wealth of academic achievements, as well as far-reaching contributions to education policy reforms at national and global levels immediately distinguished him as the right fit for the job, a square peg in a square hole.

According to him, haven worked as a key player in several government committees and panels on education development in the country, Obioma has contributed immensely in formulating education policies in Nigeria in the last two decades with a record of achievements too vast to enumerate.

He disclosed that he had been privileged to preview the registrars proposed 11-point roadmap for NECO which showed a determination to reignite hope in inclusive and quality education for Nigerian children. 

"A distinguished product of Abia State, Prof. Obioma has spearheaded a number of policy reforms and institutional changes in Nigeria's educational curriculum including; the 9-year Basic Education Curriculum, the Senior Secondary Education Curriculum, the 34 Senior Secondary Entrepreneur/Trade subjects, the 2014 Edition of the National Policy on Education, among others. He has served as the Chairman of Nigeria Education Roadmap of the Federal Ministry of Education and Executive Secretary, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council. 

"Internationally, he has consulted for UNESCO, UNDP, WORLD BANK, DFID and UNICEF, having served in various delegate and leadership roles including President of UNESCO International Bureau of Education (IBE); Member, International Experts Meeting on Key Curricular and Learning Issues in the Post 2015 Education and Development Agenda held in Geneva; and Member Nigerian Delegation to the adoption of the SDG in Education in 2014 in Nakoya Japan," he said.

Kalu further noted that despite several challenges already confronting NECO, adaptation to a COVID-19 and post COVID-19 era will be the single greatest challenge of the Council in a world that has been forced to reimagine its way of life. 

“Following the fourth UNESCO COVID-19 Education Webinar, organized on April 9, 2020 to examine the coping strategies currently considered by various countries to manage high-stake exams, it has become clear to me that unique home grown solutions are required for the peculiarities of our own challenges.

“After all, as UNESCOs Head of Education Research and Foresight, Mr. Sobhi Tawil, putit, we have been imposed, globally, an experiment in remote learning. We are all managing different ways that we can. 

“NECOs leadership must figure out exam delivery modes that are complaint with new public health standards and technological realities while remaining inclusive and accessible to the millions of Nigerian children in rural areas.

“This responsibility is an intricate dance which will require the innovativeness and insight of a leadership possessing extensive local and international experience. Prof. Obiomas breadth of experience, his wealth of academic achievements, as well as his far-reaching contributions to education policy reforms in national and global contexts immediately distinguish him as the right fit for the job- the square peg in a square hole," he said.

Coronavirus: The media is also on the frontlines* by Eugenia Abu

For years as an active Broadcast Journalist, I hardly got time off and was on duty back to back as the news never ends. This state of things was daunting for my family and pretty stressful for me. While people took breaks at weekends, I would be on duty on a fine Sunday morning. 

The profession had chosen me and I had also chosen it. This kind of schedule that I had meant that during many Christmas holidays I was either on an editorial team at work or I was in fact producer of the leading NTA network news at nine or I was a newsreader or in some circumstances all of the above. And these were mostly during normal times. 

The stress would become heightened in difficult circumstances and one could remain in the newsroom for three days running if the situation was serious and would not even go home. It’s a tough field. The public wanted information and depended on you for it. Your job was not to disappoint them.

With the Coronavirus pandemic up in the air worldwide with no vaccine and no end in sight, the public is glued to their Televisions, newspapers and Radios to get authentic information about what in fact was going on. The media has become where everyone is swimming now to get their voices heard above the din of politics, fights, disagreements between world leaders and the frustration of health organisations worldwide.

 All of this in the face of grim stories of death and ailments. For the reporter and those gathered in the newsroom day in day out, it can be suffocating and overwhelming. Journalists are first of all human beings and in the face of overwhelming ceaseless bad news, they can suffer anxiety attacks and depression being so close to the stories and having to cover them. It is reported that many newsreaders and reporters who covered the 9/11 tragedy in the United States ended up with mental health challenges especially those who were directly involved in the coverage. So much research is out there to prove that indeed this is the case.

With Coronavirus spreading at such an unbelievable rate and being so contagious, media persons report other persons and have no one to talk about their own stress. In the middle of all of this, they must continue to bring you statistics, updates and coverages non-stop. As one who has walked their path and still does, I can speak for my colleagues worldwide and know that they are on the frontline and are committed to bringing the stories for as long as it takes. Together with health workers everywhere in the world, they are battling the virus as best as they can. While the health workers are working with patients in hospital and doing their very best everywhere, the journalist is bringing us the efforts of the health workers, breakthrough in science and general information and stories of hope.

Mid-march I spoke to my Editor, Amina Alhassan at the Trust newspapers and she was tired and already stressed out. Why are you sounding like that, I asked her? Work is overwhelming, she said. I know I told her. You need to breathe and take snatches of breaks whenever you can find one. No one knew how devastating this was going to be. And here we are.

With Coronavirus spreading at such an unbelievable rate and being so contagious, media persons report other persons and have no one to talk about their own stress. In the middle of all of this, they must continue to bring you statistics, updates and coverages non-stop

 An American Newsreader from MSNBC broke down when she announced the death of a colleague from Coronavirus. Rob Osbourne, a news correspondent from ITV writes that “This is a marathon, we are in it for the long haul.” BBC in the meantime says they will continue to provide support for their staff by providing structures to keep them covering the Pandemic for as long as they can.

That support is what employers need to provide across board across countries for media workers and journalists who have to continuously bring us the stories, the policies, the updates and the statistics. Media owners should protect their staff and insure them. They should also give palliatives, bonuses and provisions to make their jobs easier. Journalists must also learn to take breaks and breathe and structures must not keep the same person exposed to this information for long without giving them short breaks to allow them refuel. Journalists also have families and the work they do and their absence from home can affect their families and put them under pressure. Journalist are advised to speak to loved ones as often as they can, try to get enough sleep and eat healthy.

Let’s think about journalists and media persons on the frontline. They need our prayers and our support. They are also heroes in these uncertain times.

I salute all our health workers worldwide who are doing amazing work. But I would also like us to raise our hands up for another set of persons in the frontline. Without the media we would never have known of the world war veteran in the UK, 99-year-old Captain Tom Moore who has raised Millions of pounds for NHS charities to help with the treatment of Coronavirus in the United Kingdom

Salute to the Media and the workers therein worldwide. Cameramen, editors, reporters, editorial staff, writers, columnists, newsreaders and their management. 

Hands up for the Media! Our prayers are with you all.

EUGENIA ABU

Who was Former President Buhari's Chief Of Staff, Mallam ABBA Kyari?

Abba Kyari OON (died 17 April 2020) was a Nigerian politician who served as Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari

Abba Kyari, OON Chief of Staff to the President Muhammadu Buhari

In office 27 August 2015 – 17 April 2020

*Education*

University of Warwick

University of Cambridge

Alma mater

Nigerian Law School

Harvard Business School

International Institute for Management Development

*Awards*

Order of the Niger

*Family and personal life*

*Early life and education*

A Kanuri from Borno, not much is known about his early life. In 1980, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Warwick, and also received a bachelor's degree in law from the University of Cambridge. In 1983, he was called to the Nigerian Bar after attending the Nigerian Law School

In 1984, he obtained a master's degree in law from the University of Cambridge. 

He later attended the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland and participated in the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School, in 1992 and 1994, respectively.

*Family*

Kyari was married to the sister-in-law of Ibrahim Tahir and had four children

*Health*

On March 24, 2020, it was made public that Kyari tested positive for COVID-19 on March 23, following an official trip to Germany nine days before.

*Professional career*

Kyari worked for the law firm Fani-Kayode and Sowemimo for some time after his return to Nigeria.

From 1988 to 1990, he was Editor with the New Africa Holdings Limited Kaduna.

In 1990, he served as a Commissioner for Forestry and Animal Resources in Borno State.

From 1990 to 1995, Kyari was the secretary to the board of African International Bank Limited, a subsidiary of Bank of Credit and Commerce International.

Kyari was an executive director in charge of management services at the United Bank for Africa, and was later appointed the chief executive officer. In 2002, he was appointed a board director of Unilever Nigeria, and later served on the board of Exxon Mobil Nigeria.

*Political career*

In August 2015, Kyari was appointed Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

*Power politics*

Kyari was an influential figure within the Buhari administration. During the administration's first term, he worked mainly behind the scenes to implement the president's agenda. In 2019 with Buhari's re-election for a second term, he ordered his cabinet to channel all requests through Kyari's office. Further enhancing his influence within government circles, and being labelled as the de facto head of government.

In 2017, following a leaked memo, Kyari became embroiled in a public argument with the Head of Civil Service, who was later removed from office and arrested.

In 2020, in another leaked memo, Babagana Monguno the National Security Adviser accused Kyari of meddling in matters of national security.

*Death*

Kyari died in a Lagos hospital on 17 April 2020,he died from complications related to COVID-19

May the Soul of departed Rest In Peace