World Status Report

This report intends to give the UTD Community a snapshot of international risks, and other issues as reported by the linked media and official sources from the U.S. and other countries.

More health and security information for each country can be found in the travel advisories issued by the governments of the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, and the CDC, ECDC, and WHO sites. Not all advise in these sites will apply to US travelers.

Please note the publication date of this report and go to the direct sources linked for the most up-to-date information.  The information in this report may change without prior notice.

Security

• Fighting still raging in Donetska oblast, particularly in Bakhmut area (ERCC). On 23 January, Sumy and Kherson oblasts were shelled. The newly accessible city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv oblast was attacked on 24 January.
• 20 people killed in an attack in eastern Congo (Reuters). A local chief and a military official blamed the killings on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan armed group based in eastern Congo that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State and wages frequent attacks.
• Colombia reports 215 human rights defenders murdered in 2022 (AP News). Colombia’s human rights watchdog is reporting that 215 human rights advocates were killed last year, the highest death toll since a peace accord was signed with leftist rebels in 2016.
• US alert as Cancun taxi drivers block road, harass Uber cars (AP News). The U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Mexico’s resort-studded Caribbean coast Monday after medallion taxi drivers started harassing and attacking drivers from the ride-hailing app Uber and their clients.

Road Safety

• 148 perish in Zimbabwe road accidents during festive season (New Zimbabwe). A total of 148 people were killed in 2 723 road traffic accidents recorded countrywide between December 15 2022 and January 15 this year in Zimbabwe, according to police.

Natural Disasters

• Heavy rainfall has been affecting northern Indonesia since 20 January (ERCC), causing severe floods and triggering landslides that have resulted in casualties and damage.

Health

• As of 23 January 2023, the cholera outbreak in Malawi is still out of control with daily reported new cases ranging between 500-600 (ERCC). The number of cumulative cases increased to 29,995 and 990 deaths since the outbreak in February last year. The case fatality rate is 3.30%.
• Drug shortfalls that hit hospitals in Beijing and Shanghai last month as Covid cases surged are now expanding into rural areas (Financial Times). There is no sign that the antiviral medication Paxlovid will receive permanent approval for the country’s national health insurance scheme, putting it out of reach for many Chinese people.
• In December, the World Health Organization published its most extensive report yet on excess deaths over the first two years of the pandemic (DW), estimating that some 14.8 million more people died than normal between 2020 and 2021.
• WHO calls for ‘immediate’ action after cough syrup deaths (Deutsche Welle). Contaminated cough syrups have been linked to hundreds of child deaths in Africa and Asia. The WHO is reportedly investigating potential connections between the pharmaceutical companies that made the products.

Please note the publication date of this report and go to the direct sources linked for the most up-to-date information.  The information in this report may change without prior notice.

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