Science

Significant progress has been made in the fight against malaria over the last two decades.

According to a new report by the World Health Organization, there were 83 countries in which the disease was still endemic in 2023, down from a total of 108 endemic countries in the year 2000. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of malaria endemic countries decreased from 85 to 83 as a result of Timor-Leste and Saudi Arabia maintaining zero indigenous cases for three consecutive years.

The number of deaths have fallen too since the turn of the century, with the WHO estimating the toll at 597,000 last year compared to 897,000 in 2000.

But, as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reports, there is still a significant amount of work to be done.

Cases were up again last year, rising from 249 million in 2022 to 263 million in 2023.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Of these, the highest numbers occurred in Nigeria (68,136,000) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (33,141,000).

According to the report, the WHO African Region continues to carry the heaviest burden of mortality, accounting for 95 percent of estimated global malaria deaths.

The WHO South-East Asia Region had eight malaria endemic countries in 2023.

India reported more than two million cases last year, accounting for half of all cases in the region. It was followed by Indonesia, which had nearly 1.1 million cases.

Malaria deaths fell from about 35,000 in 2000 to 6,000 in the South-East Region in 2023 – a drop of 82.9 percent.

In the early morning hours of Sunday (local), two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent friendly fire incident. This comes after more than a year of war against Yemeni Houthi rebels, who have targeted international transit in regional waters.

The incident is highly unusual given that US and Western allied coalition ships have come under repeat drone and missile from from the Houthis, but have thus far suffered no disclosed losses. The Western coalition has reported no damage or casualties from this long-running battle, and yet it appears the first shootdown of an American fighter jet in the conflict has come by way of US aircraft carrier fire.

The two pilots ejected after their F/A-18 fighter was hit and have been safely rescued in Red Sea waters, with one of the pilots suffering injuries.

The Associated Press and ABC News are reporting the following details after official CENTCOM confirmation:

Two U.S. Navy pilots ejected safely over the Red Sea after their F/A-18 fighter aircraft was mistakenly shot down early Sunday in what military officials are calling “an apparent case of friendly fire.”

One of the pilots has minor injuries, according to a news release from U.S. Central Command.

The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the aircraft, that was flying off the USS Harry S. Truman, according to the news release.

CENTCOM says it is investigating the incident. Again, it is clearly bizarre given the aircraft had just taken off from the same carrier strike group of which the USS Gettysburg is part.

“The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier,” Central Command indicated. 

The US military was conducting an assault against militants in Yemen at the time of the incident. AP details further, “The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, though the U.S. military’s Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was and did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.”

There appears to have been some ‘fog of war’ confusion given that just prior to the friendly fire shootdown the Houthis had launched drones and a cruise missile at the US battle group. The F-18 may have been mistakenly identified by the Gettysburg warship as an inbound Houthi UAV.

“However, Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. Incoming hostile fire from the Houthis has given sailors just seconds to make decisions in the past,” the AP notes.

Needless to say this is highly embarrassing for the Pentagon, and will be celebrated as a major ‘win’ by the Iran-backed Houthis. The Houthis have clearly been able to put the US warships on the defensive, given the confusion of the battle zone and trigger-happy premature response evident in this fresh incident.