Nigeria is spending only about N1,500 per citizen annually compared to over £2,000 per person in the UK. This falls short of the Abuja Declaration, a commitment by African heads of governments to spend at least 15% of their national budgets on the health sector.

Germany's governing coalition has shot up in approval ratings amid the massive public health crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has dropped.

India's coronavirus crisis has pushed millions into forced isolation and unemployment. Health experts warn that anxiety, depression and suicide are on the rise and that mental health could be the country's next crisis.

As cases of Covid-19 continue to increase, Nigeria risks another major battle, the food crises as a result of post-harvest losses by farmers.

"Many fado houses have closed, others haven't reopened since the first lockdown... I don't have any money left for anything, and the subsidies, we've been forgotten, there are none," laments Sonia Santos, a singer plunged into disarray by the closure of most fado houses in Lisbon, a city under curfew deserted by tourists. Singers or musicians, known as "fadists" are bearing the brunt of the economic and social impact of the second wave of the coronavirus epidemic.

Indian authorities are considering authorizing some COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use and have prepared an initial plan to inoculate 300 million people.

In the Philippines, economic anxiety, declining mental health, the prohibitive cost of seeking help and the risk of further economic damage feed off each other in a vicious spiral.

Indian authorities are again removing social media posts that criticize the government. Censorship watchdogs say those in change are trying to cover up the true severity of the ongoing public health crisis.

North Korea on Sunday reported a total of 42 deaths from "fever" after admitting its first-ever COVID-19 cases days before. Lockdown policies have been implemented across the country, according to state-run media.

Local and international health officials have said that waterborne diseases could spread rapidly under the current conditions. Hundreds of clinics have been damaged and many survivors are unable to reach doctors.

China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and other countries are lending a helping hand to Pakistan amid devastating flooding. Meanwhile, a UN agency said the crisis could aggravate food insecurity in neighboring Afghanistan.

Three attempts have been made to drain Lake Manchar, but inflows mean the water continues to rise. Hundreds of thousands more people will have to leave their homes if the lake overflows.