New Hampshire, Malaria Milestone, and Baby Name Extinction

Next Up—New Hampshire

The second nominating contest of the 2024 presidential election cycle takes place today in New Hampshire. 

The Republican primary has whittled down to a match between former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley following Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' exit from the race. An average of all New Hampshire polls shows Trump with about 52% of the vote, while Haley trails behind him with close to 37%. The state's primary is also open to independent voters, whom Haley is hoping to woo. See poll averages here. See all polling data here.

On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden is the first sitting president running for reelection not to appear on New Hampshire's primary ballot. The Democratic National Committee designated South Carolina as its first primary for 2024 on Feb. 3, rather than sticking with New Hampshire, which has held the first primary for decades as mandated by a 1975 state law. New Hampshire disagreed with the DNC's change to the primary schedule and decided to proceed with its Democratic primary without Biden on the ballot. See an overview here.

Biden's supporters are pushing for a write-in campaign. However, some voters have received robocalls mimicking Biden, deterring them from voting today. 

Malaria Milestone

Cameroon initiated the world's first routine malaria vaccine program for children yesterday amid a resurgence of the mosquito-borne disease in recent years. More than 250,000 children over the age of 5 months are expected to receive the four-dose vaccine this year, as 19 other African countries make plans to follow suit. 

Malaria is an illness caused by the microscopic Plasmodium parasite, which infects and destroys red blood cells (watch overview). Over 200 million people are diagnosed annually, and roughly 600,000 die as a result, nearly 80% of whom are children. Almost all cases arise in sub-Saharan Africa, though the US recorded its first local cases in decades last year. See more data here.

The vaccines—created over 30 years ago and first approved in 2021—have shown roughly 30% efficacy in reducing or averting symptoms in Phase 3 clinical trials. Officials claim a combination of antimalarial drugs, vaccines, and the use of mosquito nets is the most effective approach. 

India's Ram Temple

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a Hindu temple in the city of Ayodhya yesterday, with the dedication ceremony acting as an unofficial launch to the Hindu nationalist leader’s reelection campaign ahead of scheduled general elections this year.

The temple, built over 70 acres on a site that many Hindus believe is the birthplace of the deity Ram, is estimated to have cost nearly $217M and was reportedly funded by private donations. The 16th-century Babri Mosque was previously on the site before the mosque's destruction in 1992 by Hindu activists, which led to severe religious riots that claimed over 2,000 lives. India's Supreme Court in 2019 ruled in favor of a new Hindu temple on the site and gave 5 acres of nearby land for a new mosque to be built. India's Muslim population makes up around 204 million of the country's 1.4 billion people. See a timeline here.

Many opposition parties boycotted the event, expressing concerns about its compatibility with secular principles.

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