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

• Mali – Conflict, impact on civilians (ERCC). On 9 June 2023, an improvised explosive device (IED) hit a United Nations MINUSMA security patrol, later impacted by small arms fire in Ber village, in the northern part of the Tombouctou region. Sources report two deaths and eight people injured. From January 2023 to date, ten United Nations peacekeepers have died in Mali.
• Burkina Faso – Conflict, impact on civilians (ERCC). On 12 June 2023, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated on a public transport bus travelling from Bobo-Dioulasso towards Mali. Sources report deaths and injuries among passengers, but the exact figure hasn’t been communicated.
• On 9 June involving unexploded ordnance (UXO) in the Lower Shabelle region of Somalia claimed the lives of 27 civilians, including 22 children, and has left 53 others injured (UN News). UNMAS said the incident in Lower Shabelle serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat faced by civilians, particularly children, in conflict-affected areas, and highlights the critical importance of swift and decisive action to mitigate the risks associated with explosive remnants of war.
• The ongoing conflict in Sudan has raised the spectre of ethnic violence and crimes against humanity (UN News). Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and rival military group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in mid-April, has left thousands dead or injured, and displaced more than a million. Communities also continue to face severe shortages of food, access to medical supplies and restricted movement out of conflict areas, while allegations of sexual violence against women and girls have emerged. Sudan slides further into war as diplomacy flounders (Reuters). After the latest 24-hour truce expired on Sunday, residents in Khartoum and capital area reported fresh artillery fire and clashes. They said fighting had intensified since early June.
• Enforced Disappearances Rise in Ethiopia, Says Rights Commission (VOA). In a report released June 5, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission said the enforced disappearances have happened across Amhara and Oromia regions, as well as in the capital, Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian government has yet to respond to the commission’s report, which says at least 12 people have been arrested or abducted under unclear circumstances.
• Climate shocks are triggering worsening security environments, from Afghanistan to Mali (UN News). “Cross-border challenges, environmental degradation, and extreme weather events, amplified by climate change, are increasingly challenging our ability to implement our mandates,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix. “We already see a strong correlation between Member States facing fragility and those facing climate change.”

Demonstrations

• Abortion rights protests planned across Poland after death of pregnant woman (The Associated Press). Women’s rights advocates have called for protests in dozens of Polish cities on Wednesday under the slogan “Stop killing us,” after a woman in her fifth month of pregnancy died of sepsis after the hospital waited for the fetus to die, the latest such death since a tightening of Poland’s abortion law.

Infrastructure

• Ukraine dam breach will sow huge problems for food security (Reuters). The United Nations on Tuesday said the breach of the huge Soviet-era dam on the Dnipro river in Ukraine will have a huge impact on global food security, lead to a rise in food prices and could cause drinking water problems for hundreds of thousands.

Natural Disasters

• India, Pakistan – Tropical cyclone BIPARJOY, update (ERCC). Tropical cyclone BIPARJOY is moving northeastward over the northern Arabian Sea, with maximum sustained winds of 155 kmph. BIPARJOY is expected to make landfall over an area between Mandvi Town (Gujarat, India) and Karachi City (Pakistan) by the evening of 15th June as a very severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph.
• Cuba – Floods, update (ERCC). The number of casualties and the amount of damage is increasing following heavy rainfall and widespread floods that have been affecting central and eastern Cuba over the past few days.
• Yemen – Floods (ERCC). Severe flooding has affected over 165,000 individuals in over 70 districts across Yemen, causing loss of life and damages to shelters, crops, and infrastructure. Displaced populations are particularly affected. Flooding has reportedly washed away shelters and belongings at Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) sites, leading to further displacements.
• Kazakhstan – Forest fires (ERCC). Forest fires have been burning in the eastern Abai region (northeastern Kazakhstan), burning an area of approximately 60,000 ha of land and resulting in casualties and evacuations.
• Côte d’Ivoire – Landslides and floods (ERCC). Since 11 June, heavy rainfall has been affecting Abidjan City area in southern Ivory Coast causing floods and landslides.
• Philippines – Volcanic activity, update (ERCC). In the past 24 hours, the activity of Mayon volcano (located in Albay Province, Bicol Region, central Philippines) was characterized by very slow lava flows moving approximately 1 km from the crater, one volcanic earthquake and moderate ash emission drifting northeast as reported by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

Health

• Recently, some US residents returning from Matamoros, Mexico, were diagnosed with fungal meningitis infections that have led to severe illness and death (CDC). Travelers with these infections had medical or surgical procedures that involved injection of an anesthetic into the area around the spinal column (i.e., epidural) performed at clinics in Matamoros, including River Side Surgical Center and Clinica K-3.
• Peru – Dengue outbreak (ERCC). Following the countrywide floods in Peru, the country is experiencing a major dengue outbreak with more than 176 deaths and 110,000 cases reported so far (compared to 2022’s total of 63,100 cases).
• PAHO urges Central American, Caribbean nations to brace for increase in dengue (CIDRAP). Dengue in the Americas is outpacing 2022 activity by 12%, and chikungunya is also on the rise.
• WHO: Antimicrobial resistance could cause more than 5 million deaths in Western Pacific by 2030. The modeling study projects a significant health and economic impact from drug-resistant infections from 2020 to 2030. “Despite the data limitations, the study provides compelling evidence for the potential health and economic costs of AMR in the Western Pacific Region,” the researchers wrote. “The impacts are not distributed equally, and AMR is an especially serious threat for some of the poorest people and most marginalized populations in the Region.”

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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