Super Cyclone Amphan, the strongest storm ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal, has devastated Bangladesh and India with sustained winds of 165 mph - equivalent to a category 5 hurricane. Up to 300,000 people in coastal areas are in immediate danger from deadly storm surges and flooding. Thousands are homeless. India’s worst damage is in West Bengal's coastal districts that were ‘pulverised’. Nearly every coastal district in Bangladesh was damaged. Evacuations across the region were complicated by the pandemic, as authorities tried to maintain social distancing rules. Pray for the thousands left homeless as Amphan heaps misery on coronavirus-hit communities, particularly the 14 million in Kolkata - situated in its direct path. Pray for those in mourning, the injured, and those clearing debris from impassable roads, rescuing flood victims and organising aid as heavy rains continue to fall on hard-hit areas.

Social media report that doctors have been assaulted by relatives of coronavirus patients, and health workers attacked verbally and physically. Daniel, wearing his hospital cleaner uniform, was brutally attacked on a bus by people shouting ‘dirty’ at him. He thought it was never going to end. Nurse Melody came face to face with residents blocking her path when she tried to return home. She said ‘If I entered the village I wouldn't be allowed to leave again. It would be better if I didn't enter because I came from a source of infection.’ She is temporarily renting a flat elsewhere. Experts believe that the attacks reflect the public's fear of what the medical workers represent in a country with tens of thousands of deaths. Unlike other traumatic events, cannot be avoided, and generates more fear motivated by ignorance and fright. The national guard is now in hospitals, and some medical workers receive government transport for long commutes home.

Thousands of children work in Lake Volta’s massive fishing industry: many are slaves. Children as young as 4 are abused and malnourished. Their work is dangerous; drowning and other hazards are a constant threat. Victims rise before dawn to go out and dive down into the dark water to untangle fishing nets. IJM estimates that nearly two-thirds of children working on the Lake are trapped in slavery. Since 2015, 164 victims have been rescued from the lake’s fishing industry, and 31 suspected traffickers have been arrested. Today thousands of children are trapped there. Before the lockdown IJM were about to launch rescues. Pray that these children will be found and saved now that lockdown is lifted. Pray that IJM will be able to access communities and offer support where needed.

The world's worst health crisis in a hundred years is not the best time for the WHO to lose its largest financial supporter. The Trump administration says the WHO ignored early warnings about coronavirus spread, took at face value Chinese efforts to downplay it, and failed to send researchers into Wuhan for vital investigation at an early enough stage. Unless WHO shapes up to better serve ‘American interests,’ it will stop funding them in 30 days. Some are asking ‘Is WHO in need of urgent reform, or is it imperfect but better than any current alternatives?’ Also, WHO refused to provide information directly to Taiwan - which is excluded from WHO membership - out of respect for China's wishes, putting millions of Taiwanese at unnecessary risk. President Xi has pledged up to $2 billion to help the WHO's global pandemic response efforts.