Our daily trip around the world

🇮🇳 India PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a Hindu temple on the site of a former Muslim mosque. The Ram Mandir temple was built to honor Lord Ram, one of Hinduism's most revered deities, at his supposed birthplace in the northern city of Ayodhya. Hindu nationalists in India previously demolished a 16th-century mosque located on the land in 1992 – sparking deadly nationwide riots – and won a legal battle in 2019 to build a $217 million temple spread across 7.4 acres. Critics say the Hindu temple contradicts the idea of a constitutionally secular India, and is being used for campaigning by Modi ahead of elections this spring.

🇨🇲💉 Cameroon kicked off the world’s first mass rollout of a malaria vaccine. Malaria causes ~600,000 deaths per year in Africa, with children under five accounting for 80+% of all fatalities. Cameroon’s new campaign, which began yesterday, aims to treat 500,000 local children over the next two years using a novel malaria vaccine that British pharma giant GSK spent the past three decades developing. While the vaccine is only ~30% effective at preventing malaria, it can raise childrens’ protection above 90% when combined with mosquito nets and malaria tablets.

🌎 Tobacco use is declining globally, per the WHO. In 2020, about 22% of adults used tobacco products, down from 33% in 2000, a new WHO report found. The overall figure is expected to further decline to ~18% by 2030. Scientists attribute the recent dip in tobacco usage to a variety of reasons, including control measures like smoke-free environments, restrictions on advertising, health warnings, and price hikes.