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

• As water scarcity and the potential for conflicts between countries over resources increase (UN News), the UN is urging more nations to sign up to the Water Convention, designed to reduce tensions and improve international cooperation.

Demonstrations

• Kenyan police fire tear gas at protesters led by opposition chief Odinga (Reuters on MSN.com). Kenyan police fired tear gas to disperse protesters who threw stones at them and blocked roads after opposition leader Raila Odinga called for a demonstration against President William Ruto’s government over the high cost of living.
• In Macron’s France, streets and fields seethe with protest (ABC). His government has ignited a firestorm of anger with unpopular pension reforms that he railroaded through parliament and which, most notably, push the legal retirement age from 62 to 64.
• Strike over pay paralyzes rail, air travel in Germany (ABC). Trains, planes and public transit systems stood still across much of Germany on Monday as labor unions called a major one-day strike over salaries in an effort to win inflation-busting raises for their members. The 24-hour walkout — one of the biggest in decades — also affected cargo transport by rail and ship, as workers at the country’s ports and waterways joined the strike.
• Mass protests, strikes engulf Israel over Netanyahu’s court reforms (AP). Workers from a range of sectors in Israel launched a nationwide strike on Monday, threatening to paralyze the economy as they joined a surging protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary. Departing flights from the country’s main international airport were grounded, large mall chains and universities shut their doors, and Israel’s largest trade union called for its 800,000 members — in health, transit, banking and other fields — to stop work. Diplomats walked off the job at foreign missions, local governments were expected to close the preschools they run and cut other services, and the main doctors union announced its members would also strike.
• Residents protest zipline on Rio’s iconic Sugarloaf Mountain (AP News). Some 200 protesters gathered beneath Rio de Janeiro’s world-famous Sugarloaf Mountain to protest the ongoing construction of ziplines aimed at boosting tourism, alleging it will cause unacceptable impacts.
• The first protest in two years has taken place in Hong Kong under close monitoring by police (BBC). The small rally was the first since China imposed sweeping restrictions on the rights and freedoms of people living in the territory. Only 100 people were allowed to attend. They were also required to wear number tags and their banners were examined in advance.

Natural Disasters

• Since the past week, heavy rainfall hit Santa Cruz Department in eastern Bolivia (ERCC), causing the overflow of the Pirai and Rio Grande rivers and resulting in casualties and damage.
• Heavy rainfall has been affecting northern and southern Kenya (ERCC), in particular the Greater Nairobi Metropolitan area, since 22 March causing floods that have resulted in casualties and damage.
• Several tornadoes, strong winds, hailstorms and thunderstorms have been affecting the Lower Mississippi Valley in the United States (ERCC), in particular Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, since 24 March, causing a number of severe weather-related incidents (particularly due to tornadoes) that have resulted in casualties and widespread damage.
• On 25 March, heavy rainfall affected four districts of  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in north-western Pakistan (ERCC), causing severe weather-related incidents that resulted in casualties and damage.
• Heavy rainfall, strong winds and thunderstorms have been affecting northern and central Indonesia (ERCC), in particular the Sumatra and the Java Islands, since 20 March, causing floods and strong wind-related incidents that have resulted in casualties and damage.

Health

• Equatorial Guinea’s Marburg virus outbreak expands (CIDRAP). Eight more cases have been confirmed, with worries of undetected spread and infections now spanning three provinces that share borders with Cameroon and Gabon.
• Geographical expansion of cases of dengue and chikungunya beyond the historical areas of transmission in the Region of the Americas (WHO). Although dengue and chikungunya are endemic in most tropical and subtropical countries of the Americas and the Caribbean, increased transmission and expansion of chikungunya cases has been observed beyond historical areas of transmission (WHO). Furthermore, 2023 is showing intense dengue transmission. In addition, higher transmission rates are expected in the coming months in the southern hemisphere, due to weather conditions favorable for the proliferation of mosquitoes.
• Multi-country outbreak of cholera, External situation report #1 – 22 March 2023 (WHO). Since the last disease outbreak news on the global cholera situation was published on 11 February 2023, the global situation has further deteriorated with four new countries reporting outbreaks. In total, 24 countries are reporting cases as of 20 March. The overall capacity to respond to the multiple and simultaneous outbreaks continues to be strained due to the global lack of resources, including shortages of the oral cholera vaccine, as well as overstretched public health and medical personnel, who are dealing with multiple disease outbreaks and other health emergencies at the same time. Based on the current situation, WHO assesses the risk at the global level as very high.

Humanitarian

• 26 March, 2023 marked 8 years since the start of the Yemen conflict (ERCC). Yemen is among the largest humanitarian crises in the world with 21.6 million people in need of assistance in 2023. Food insecurity remains extremely high. Some 17 million people are facing acute food insecurity with around 53% of households in government-controlled areas unable to meet their minimum food needs

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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