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

• The UN envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) warned the Security Council on Wednesday (UN News) that the security situation in eastern Congo has “deteriorated considerably” in recent months and that the humanitarian situation has become “increasingly dramatic”.
• Retaliation in continues against officials who spearheaded the fight against corruption in Guatemala (UN News), the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said on Thursday.
• The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Tuesday calling for the appointment of an independent rights expert on Haiti (UN News), amid mounting concern over deadly gang violence engulfing the country, threatening livelihoods, and pushing half the population into hunger.
• Palestinian stabs 2 Israelis near army base (ABC). Israeli police say a suspected Palestinian attacker stabbed two Israeli soldiers near an army base south of Tel Aviv on Tuesday in the latest incident in a yearlong spate of violence.
• President Guillermo Lasso modified a decree (MercoPress) to allow civilians to carry firearms and declared a state of emergency in Ecuador’s largest city, Santiago de Guayaquil, and several other areas. 

Demonstrations

• UK passport office workers kick off 5-week strike (SFGate). British passport office workers kicked off a five-week strike on Monday, as the latest group of civil servants to demand a pay raise in response to double-digit inflation threatened to cause headaches for travelers ahead of the summer holiday season.
• Security official in Argentina punched, kicked at protest (AP News). Protesting bus drivers punched, kicked and threw rocks at the top law enforcement official of Buenos Aires province Monday, unleashing a level of violence rarely seen in the demonstrations that are common around Argentina’s capital.
• Thousands protest in Portugal over housing crisis (Reuters). Thousands of people took to the streets of Lisbon and other cities across Portugal on Saturday in protest against soaring rents and house prices at a time when high inflation is making it even tougher for people to make ends meet.

Transportation

• Train derails near The Hague, killing one person and injuring 30 others (Los Angeles Times on MSN.com). A train has derailed near the Dutch city of The Hague, killing one person and injuring some 30 passengers, many of them seriously, authorities said.

Natural Disasters

• After the strong earthquake of 7.0 M at a depth of 63 km occurred south-west of Wewak City in north-western Papua New Guinea on 2 April at 18:04 UTC (ERCC), casualties and damage were reported across the Momase Region itself and the neighbouring Highlands Region.
• Tornadoes, strong winds, hailstorms and thunderstorms affected south-eastern USA and the mid-west from 31 March to 3 April (ERCC), in particular in Arkansas, Alabama, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi and Tennessee, causing several severe weather-related incidents (particularly due to tornadoes) that have resulted in an increased number of casualties and severe damage.
• For decades, Somalia has suffered from prolonged conflict and extreme weather, including recurrent droughts and floods (ERCC). The country has experienced an unprecedented 5th consecutive failed rainy season with forecasts that the following rainy season (April-June 2023) may also fail.
• Major avalanche hits Sikkim’s Nathula border area in India; 7 tourists dead, over 80 feared trapped (India TV News. According to an initial estimate, about 30 tourists were caught by the avalanche, as per the BRO, out of whom, 22 have been rescued.
• Colombia evacuates families living near active volcano (AP News). Colombian officials began to evacuate 40 families from their homes Monday after a volcano in the center of the country showed high levels of seismic activity that could signal an eruption in the coming days or weeks.

Health

• ECDC strongly encourages EU/EEA citizens to avoid intragastric treatments with BoNT for obesity in Türkiye (ECDC), as this is currently associated with a significant risk of developing botulism
• Equatorial Guinea’s health ministry on Mar 31 reported 1 more Marburg virus case, raising the outbreak total to 14 (CIDRAP). Officials also reported one more death raising the total in the confirmed cases to 10.
• There’s a second outbreak of Marburg virus in Africa. Climate change could be a factor (NPR) A second country in Africa has recently reported cases of Marburg, an infectious disease that has high fatality rates and, according to the World Health Organization, epidemic potential. The news has lent urgency to ongoing efforts to develop a vaccine for Marburg — and concern among public health officials that earth’s changing climate could be fueling the outbreaks.
• Chile reported one human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) in a 53-year-old man in March 2023 (ECDC). Investigations are ongoing to identify the source of infection and contacts of the case. To date, no human-to-human transmission has been detected.
• Since January 2023, Somalia has reported 3,428 cases of cholera and 14 deaths (CFR 0.41%) from 27 of the 74 drought affected districts (ERCC). Reported cases in the first months of 2023 are twice as many as those reported during same epidemiological period in 2022.
• Mozambique works to contain cholera outbreak after cyclone (AP) Weeks after massive Cyclone Freddy hit Mozambique for a second time, the still-flooded country is facing a spiraling cholera outbreak that threatens to add to the devastation. There were over 19,000 confirmed cases of cholera across eight of Mozambique’s provinces as of March 27, according to U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, a figure which had almost doubled in a week.
• Mpox cases slowly creeping up in Japan even as spread slows abroad (Japan Times) Health ministry statistics show that the number of mpox patients in Japan has crept up this month, in contrast with many other countries where the number of cases has recently declined. As of Tuesday, Japan had reported 80 cases of mpox, an infectious viral disease that is primarily transmitted through men having sex with men. But anyone who has close contact with an infected person is also at risk. 
• WHO tracking Omicron XBB.1.16 subvariant, rising cases in some countries (CIDRAP). Earlier this week at a press briefing, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said though COVID-19 patterns are hard to predict, the XBB.1.16 Omicron subvariant is the one to watch and is fueling a steady rise in cases in India.
• Americas region dengue surge gains more steam (CIDRAP). The countries with highest incidences include Bolivia, Nicaragua, Belize, and Brazil.

Humanitarian

• The war in Ukraine has spiralled into a fully-fledged humanitarian catastrophe (ERCC). Millions of people do not have access to basic services, including water, electricity and heating, while food supplies are running low.
• After 5 consecutive poor rain seasons, compounded with the impact of COVID-19 and rising commodity prices, food insecurity in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands is increasing (ERCC). Some 4.4 million people (or 27% of the population in the ASALs) are facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

Migration

• Since the beginning of the hostilities, over 700,000 people fleeing the war have entered into Moldova (ERCC), which still hosts over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. The country has also been heavily affected by high inflation, security threats and other challenges fuelled by the war in Ukraine.

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.

---

Tags

---

Related Posts

---