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 

• Russia says it repelled attempted Ukrainian cross-border incursion on (Reuters). Russia’s defence ministry said on Friday that its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to launch a cross-border attack on Russia’s Belgorod region on Thursday. 
• Israeli troops raid Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital (Reuters). Israeli troops raided the compound of Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital early on Monday in an operation that Palestinian health authorities said caused multiple casualties and set off a fierce fire in one of the buildings. 
• Moldova – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution (DOS). Exercise increased caution while traveling to Moldova due to unresolved conflict between the breakaway region of Transnistria and the central government. Reconsider travel to the Transnistria breakaway region due to the unresolved conflict with the central government and the armed conflict in neighboring Ukraine. 
• Belgorod, the city where the war in Ukraine came to Russia (Reuters). Air raid sirens wail almost daily in the southern Russian city of Belgorod, sending people rushing for cover and reminding residents the full-scale war in neighbouring Ukraine is a reality for them too. 
• Somali forces, foreign navies prepare attack on hijacked ship, police say (Reuters). Somali police and international navies were preparing on Monday to attack a commercial ship that was hijacked by pirates last week, the Puntland region’s police force said, two days after Indian commandos rescued another cargo vessel held by pirates.
• US military operations across the Sahel are at risk after Niger ends cooperation (AP). The United States scrambled on Sunday to assess the future of its counterterrorism operations in the Sahel after Niger’s junta said it was ending its yearslong military cooperation with Washington following a visit by top U.S. officials.

Haiti crisis

• UN mission announces airbridge to facilitate aid relief (UN News). The UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH) said on Wednesday that the air corridor will enable the transport of aid and ensure the safe relocation of staff both in and out of the country.  
• Looting is on the rise in Haiti. Among the victims: UNICEF and Guatemala’s consul (AP News). As Haiti once again spirals into chaos with another wave of gang violence, a number of government and aid agencies reported Saturday that their facilities and aid supplies have been looted.
• Haiti’s top gang leader threatens politicians as fires break out in capital (Reuters). A powerful gang leader in Haiti has issued a threatening message aimed at political leaders who would participate in a planned transition council, as fires broke out amid a fresh surge of violence in the Caribbean nation’s capital. Nearby countries bolstered their border security and withdrew staff from embassies while plans to send a long-awaited international security force remain uncertain.

Demonstrations

• Spanish farmers protest in Madrid despite EU concessions (Deutsche Welle). The demo, organized by the Union of Unions, is in response to EU regulations on the environment which they see as cost-prohibitive. The EU said it would take steps to ease its rules, but the union said it is not enough.
• Protest erupts in eastern Cuba amid blackouts, food shortages (Reuters). Hundreds in Cuba’s second-largest city, Santiago, engaged in a rare public protest on Sunday, according to social media and official reports, prompting Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to call for dialogue in an “atmosphere of tranquility and peace.”

Infrastructure

• Mali – Conflict, impact on education (ERCC). The Menaka region is already in a state of severe food insecurity, according to the results of the recently published March 2024 Cadre Harmonise. From March to May 2024, 850 people will be in famine-like conditions; 2,575 people are expected to be in such a situation during the 2024 lean season.The blockade imposed by the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara in the city of Menaka for more than three months now has prevented the town’s market from being adequately supplied. 
• South Sudan – Widespread very dire food insecurity (ERCC). A Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) report released on 14 March shows that 17 counties in South Sudan are in Emergency level of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4) and this number is expected to double in the upcoming lean season (June – September). 
• Ghana says repairs on subsea cables could take five weeks (Reuters). Repairs on damaged subsea cables that are causing internet outages across West and Central Africa are expected to take at least five weeks before completion and full service restoration, Ghana’s communications regulator said on Saturday.
• UN warns of catastrophic hunger in Sudan in coming months (Reuters). Nearly five million people in Sudan could suffer catastrophic hunger in parts of the war-torn country in the coming months, United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths warned the Security Council on Friday in a note seen by Reuters.

Environment

• China – Wildfires (ERCC). A number of wildfires have been affecting southern China, in particular the Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces since 15 March, causing casualties and widespread damage. 
• Iceland – Volcanic eruption (ERCC). A volcanic eruption began on 16 March at 20.23 UTC between Mt. Hagafell and Mt. Stóra Skógfell on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southern Iceland. There are three eruptive opening fissures approximately 2,900 m long in the same location of the 8 February 2024 eruption. According to Icelandic Met Offic, as of 17 March at 18.40 UTC, the lava is propagating at an average speed of 12 m/h in the southern and south-eastern part of the Grindavik area.  
• Democratic Republic of the Congo – Landslide and floods (ERCC). Heavy rainfall has been affecting the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in particular the South Kivu Province, bordering with western Rwanda, since 11 March, triggering a landslide and causing floods and rivers overflow, particularly the Ruzizi River that have resulted in damage. 
• Chile – Wildfires (ERCC). Wildfires have been affecting central Chile, in particular the Valparaíso Region since 13 March, causing population evacuation and damage. 
• Peru – Severe weather (ERCC). On 10-11 March, heavy rainfall affected central Peru, causing floods and the overflow of Molinos River that resulted in damage. 
• Indonesia – Floods and landslide (ERCC). In Palangkaraya City, central Kalimantan Province, widespread floods resulted in four fatalities, one missing person, 644 displaced people and almost 20,400 affected people. In addition, media report a landslide occurred in Bali Island on 14 March that caused two fatalities. 

Health

• More than 600 dead in spreading DR Congo mpox outbreak as Republic of Congo reports its first cases (CIDRAP). Through November 12, 2023, the ongoing clade 1 mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) sickened nearly 13,000 people—the most ever recorded in a year—and killed nearly 600, according to a rapid communication published yesterday in Eurosurveillance. Mpox continues to spread in Africa and threatens global health security (Nature). In recent years, Africa has experienced an upsurge in mpox cases, raising concerns about the potential of the virus to cause larger outbreaks.
• Multi-country outbreak of cholera, External situation report #12 – 14 March 2024 (WHO). Since the beginning of 2023, a cumulative total 787 813 cholera cases and 5586 deaths have been reported from 31 countries across five WHO regions, with the Eastern Mediterranean region recording the highest numbers, followed by the African, South-East Asia, Americas, and Western Pacific regions. No outbreaks have been reported in the European Region during this period. The global cholera response continues to be affected by a critical shortage of Oral Cholera Vaccines (OCV). 
• Going abroad? Time to check if you’re up to date on measles immunity, CDC says (CBSNEWS). Americans planning to travel abroad should consult their doctors at least six weeks before traveling if they are unsure about whether they are up to date on their vaccines, the agency now says, in order to avoid catching the highly contagious virus during their trip.  
• Dengue, the tropical disease that’s suddenly everywhere (Vox). In January and February, Brazil reported more than 1 million cases and around 300 deaths from dengue — the fastest spread of the virus ever recorded in the country. Argentina has seen more than 74,000 cases since the beginning of this year, an astonishing 2,100-percent increase from the same period in 2023. Peru declared a state of emergency after more than 31,000 dengue cases were recorded in the first eight weeks of the year, and hospitals in the country’s north reported being overwhelmed by sick patients. 
• Study spotlights high incidence of typhoid fever in sub-Saharan Africa (CIDRAP). High incidence of typhoid fever, and the threat of antibiotic-resistant typhoid strains, in sub-Saharan Africa highlight the need for typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs). Four countries (Burkina Faso, the DRC, Ghana, and Madagascar) had an overall adjusted typhoid incidence of more than 100 cases per 100,000 person-years of observation, with the highest observed in the DRC (315 cases). 

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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