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16-November-2022

AFRICA

Ethiopia (Security threat level – 5): Recent conflict in the Tigray region, located in the northernmost part of Ethiopia, has led to a collapse of the area’s health care system. Local health officials and health care workers report severe shortages of medical supplies, medications, manpower and medical transport.

Patients confined to hospitals and clinics are left untreated, resulting in complications and deaths. At the same time, new patients are denied admission due to shortages of beds and general resources, while some locals who have their own medication supplies have opted to stay at home.

The regional health bureau reports that the warfare damaged 90% of Tigray’s 40 hospitals and roughly 1,000 smaller clinics. More than half of Tigray’s doctors have left their posts as a result of either being displaced by fighting or being forced to search for food, as they have not been paid in months.

ASIA

Gambia (The) / India / Indonesia (Security threat levels – 3 / 3 / 4): On 5 October 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) posted Medical Product Alert N°6/2022 for four substandard (contaminated) products manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited in Haryana, India:

  • Promethazine Oral Solution
  • Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup
  • Makoff Baby Cough Syrup
  • Magrip N Cold Syrup

Per the WHO, the products contain diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal. They have also added that the products “may have been distributed, through informal markets, to other countries or regions.”

The four products were initially identified in The Gambia and reported to WHO in September 2022 following the deaths of several children after consumption of the medications.

The situation is the same in Indonesia where more than 130 children have died as a result of acute kidney injuries linked to the cough syrups since August 2022. Because of the growing number of fatalities, the Indonesian government has ordered a halt to the sale of the syrup-based medicines and canceled permits for the sale of more than 1,000 such products.

EUROPE

Poland (Security threat level – 2): On the evening of 15 November 2022, a missile struck a farm in the eastern Polish village of Przewodów, located approximately 7 km (4 mi) from Poland’s border with Ukraine, killing two people. According to President Andrzej Duda, the likely Russian-made missile probably landed in Polish territory after Ukrainian air defense systems responded to an onslaught of Russian projectiles that targeted Ukraine. Duda also stated that there is no evidence that the missile strike was the result of a deliberate act. Earlier in the day, the Russian military launched approximately 100 missiles into Ukraine, striking civilian infrastructure in multiple cities across the country.

MIDDLE EAST

Oman (Security threat level – 2): On the night of 15 November 2022, an explosives-laden drone struck an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, approximately 240 km (150 mi) off the coast of Oman. The Liberia-flagged Pacific Zircon tanker, owned by an Israeli businessman, sustained minor damage due to the strike but no crew members were injured, according to the Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping company, which operates the tanker. Media reports, citing an anonymous Israeli official, suggest that the Iranian military conducted the attack using a Shahed-136 drone. The attack follows a recent seizure by the U.S. Navy’s 5th fleet of explosive materials found on a fishing vessel traveling to Yemen from Iran.

SOUTH AMERICA

Chile (Security threat level – 2): On 15 November 2022, workers affiliated with the Sindicato 1 union announced plans to stage work stoppages at the Escondida copper mine on 21 and 23 November due to alleged security and safety violations at the workplace. Approximately 2,400 union members are anticipated to participate in the labor action. Miners associated with the union are demanding that BHP company officials find solutions to their security and safety concerns.