Brazil is currently facing one of the biggest public health crises in its history. It is widely accepted that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is testing the resilience of health systems as the demand for resources, laboratories, and task force allocation is increasing, as well as the number of cases requiring hospitalization in intensive care units (ICU). In addition, the fact that residues from previous epidemics caused by arboviruses-such as the Zika virus (ZIKV)-coexist in Brazil increases the burden health sector in the country.

Dear Editor, Lassa Fever (LF), an acute zoonotic disease caused by the Lassa fever virus (LFV), has approximately 2 million annual occurrences with 5000 to 10000 deaths. 1 The disease has been identified to be endemic in Africa, particularly West Africa, where a larger percentage is recorded in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, 2 especially as a result of its transmission pathways which is through rodents and warm-blooded species via contact with their pathogenic infected body wastes around the house. [1][2][3] Studies have shown that one of the major challenges facing the fight against this disease is the similarities between its symptoms, that include, sore throat, pains in the joints, back and chest, and weakness, 1 with many other popular diseases. Since the disease can progresses in serious cases to pharynx inflammation, conjunctivitis, abdominal pains, diarrhoea, vomiting and clinical manifestations that range from facial drops to respiratory symptoms, loss of hearing, acute hemorrhagic fever, multiple-organ failure, foetal loss and death, 1,2 that under and misdiagnosis is a problem as early diagnosis

COVID-19 being a public health emergency of international concern has emerged in most African countries including Niger. Niger, a landlocked country, is tasked with controlling the pandemic. However, of the big challenges the country faced is the fragility of healthcare system which posed limitations to the fight against the virus. The virus overwhelmed the fragile healthcare system which led to inaccessibility of quality healthcare to the citizens coupled with issues of flooding and economic recession that happened during the pandemic. The healthcare sectored has further been crippled by exposure and infection of the already insufficient healthcare workers. In addition to this, there was the burden of NTDs and other communicable and non-communicable diseases that subverted the country in the depths of difficulties. As per the predictions of World Bank, the poverty curve is likely to escalate due to the outrageous impacts of COVID-19. Adding on to this, the occurrence of natural disasters such as flooding has further stretched the country. It's no coincidence that the country would confront plethora of challenges amidst the second wave. Therefore, timely decision and necessary interventions are needed to strengthen the country's fight against the pandemic. However, this is only feasible when Nigerien government, international allies and other wealthy nations work closely to ensure that the challenges faced by the healthcare system are tackled.

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The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus made governments across the world announce country-wide lockdowns suspending all activities and banning travels. This affected the lives of millions of people across all the continents in the world, including South America. The low-income classes were most affected by the lockdowns as many lost their only source of income. In addition, the uncertainty of the disease and its deadly nature along with lack of access to correct information led to a deterioration of the mental health of the low-income and indigenous groups in South America. The low-income population has little chance of gaining access to proper mental healthcare as many healthcare systems collapsed due to the nature of the pandemic. A good number of them faced short-term mental effects such as anxiety and panic attacks as well as long-term effects of depression. Proper steps must be taken to maintain and help the most vulnerable sections of the population. The pandemic along with the widespread poverty-stricken regions in the country have affected the population of the country. This article assesses the impact of COVID-19 on the poor and low-income population of the South American continent and the impact it has had on their mental health. It also reviews the recommended steps that can be taken to improve the situation and help the affected people.