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

• At least 28 civilians were killed in two separate incidents in Burkina Faso (ERCC). In Mangodara (Cascades region, Comoé province), 15 civilian men were abducted from a public transport bus and then killed by a non-state armed group on 29 January. In the Sahel region (Seno province), at least 13 civilians were killed in the attack of a police station in Bani on 4 February. The assailants also killed 2 policemen.
• A UN peacekeeper was killed on Sunday in the restive eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (UN News) after the helicopter he was travelling in came under fire after taking off from the city of Beni.
• The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide on Thursday voiced concern over the worsening security situation in Nigeria (UN News), with particular concern about the situation in the North West and North Central regions of Nigeria, where recent air attacks on civilians took place, and increasing trends of hate speech along identity lines, and incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence that permeates political discourse in the country.
• Israel forces kill five Palestinians in Jericho raid: Israeli official (AFP on MSN.com). Israeli forces on Monday killed five alleged Palestinian gunmen in a raid in the occupied West Bank, an Israeli official said, after a days-long search for suspects in a shooting near Jericho.

Demonstrations

• France and Spain travel strikes: The dates and cities with delays and cancellations in February (Euronews)Workers in almost every industry are striking at the moment and travel isn’t immune. As the cost of living crisis and rising inflation continue to bite, many are taking action over pay and working conditions. Here are all of the European transport strikes announced so far for 2023, including strikes throughout February in Spain.
• UK nurses, ambulance crews strike, straining health system (ABC). Tens of thousands of nurses and ambulance staff are walking off the job in the U.K. in what unions called the biggest strike in the history of the country’s public health system.
• Israelis protest government’s judicial overhaul plans (AP). Tens of thousands of Israelis gathered Saturday for a weekly demonstration against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu government’s proposed judicial overhauls, which opponents say threaten Israel’s democratic values.

Natural Disasters

• Since the first week of February, strong winds and high temperatures fuelled by heat wave have sparked dozens of wildfires across central Chile (ERCC). A state of emergency has been declared in Araucanía, Biobío and Ñuble, the most affected areas.
• A strong earthquake of 7.8 M at a depth of 18 km occurred on 6 February at 4.17 local time in southern Türkiye, close to the border with northern Syria (ERCC). The epicentre was located in Atalar town (Gaziantep Province, Southeastern Anatolia Region), and about 45 km north of the northern border of Aleppo Governorate in Syria. Media reports over two thousand fatalities (Reuters).
• Heavy rain has been affecting central, western and eastern Bolivia since 4 February (ERCC), causing floods and rivers overflow (in particular Mapiri, and Guanay Rivers) that have resulted in casualties and damage.
• Heavy rain and strong winds have been affecting South Sulawesi Province over the past few days (ERCC), causing flash floods, triggering landslides and resulting in casualties and damage.
• Since 2018, Uruguay has been affected by drought across several agricultural areas (ERCC), and since the beginning of 2023, the situation is worsening following the lack of rainfall across most parts of the country. Since October 2022, the national government declared a state of agricultural emergency until the end of April for the entire country.

Health

• One case of influenza A(H5) was reported in a nine-year-old girl from Bolivar province in Ecuador (ECDC). The girl is in critical condition and had exposure to poultry. This is the first case of avian influenza infection reported in humans in Ecuador, including in Latin America and the Caribbean region.
• UK reports more H5N1 avian flu in mammals (CIDRAP). The UK mammal H5N1 findings include foxes and otters, part of ongoing detections in mammal species alongside outbreaks in poultry and wild birds. Avian flu surveillance is being ramped up in the UK (The Guardian) after the detection of at least 200 cases of infection in mammals.
• Bangladesh reports more Nipah virus cases (CIDRAP). Health officials confirm 5 new cases, including 2 fatal ones, for a total of 8 infections so far this year. Officials suspect that people were sickened after drinking raw date juice, which can be contaminated by the saliva or feces from bats that carry the virus and feed on the date juice. Health officials urged people to avoid drinking raw date juice and to avoid consuming dates that are half-eaten by birds.
• Trafficked medical products kill almost half a million sub-Saharan Africans every year (UN News), with as many as 267,000 deaths per year are linked to falsified and substandard antimalarial medicines.

Migration

• New arrivals continue to come in Mizoram and Manipur in India (ERCC). The current total number of Myanmar Forcefully Displaced People (FDP) stands at 38,890 in Mizoram and 7,300 in Manipur.

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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