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A Mirage 2000 fighter jet of the French Air Force takes off.
Hard Numbers: France sends jets to Ukraine, Black women suffer higher maternal mortality, Ismailis get new Aga Khan, Football fans get ready to rumble
6 of 26: The French Air Force delivered the first batch of Mirage 2000 fighter jets promised to Ukraine. According to a budget report, France was to transfer six of its 26 Mirage 2000-5 aircraft, but the Elysee will neither confirm nor deny the number “for security reasons.” France also reportedly trained Ukrainian pilots and mechanics to operate the planes.
3.5: Black women in the US died at a rate nearly 3.5 times higher than white women during childbirth in 2023, according to new data released this week. While maternal mortality overall fell below pre-pandemic levels, racial gaps widened. The maternal death rate for Hispanic and Asian American women fell from 17 to 12 and 13 to 11 (deaths per 100,000 live births), respectively, and the rate for white women dropped from 19 to 14.5, but the rate of Black maternal death rose from 49.5 to just above 50.
50: Following the death of the Aga Khan on Tuesday, his eldest son, Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini, has been named the 50th hereditary spiritual leader of the world’s 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims. Like his father, Prince Rahim is considered a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
116.8 million: Are you ready for some football? A whopping 116.8 million viewers are expected to tune in to Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 to watch the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles. But the big numbers aren’t just on the screen: Locally, the event is expected to generate $76.3 million in spending in New Orleans: $66.1 million for accommodations, $8.6 million in restaurants, and $1.6 million on transportation. That’s a lot of beer and chicken wings.
Graphic Truth: Infant mortality in the OECD
American parents are more than four times as likely as their peers in Estonia to lose a baby during or shortly after birth. It is one of the most devastating human experiences – and a key indicator of a country’s development. After all, if even the most vulnerable babies survive, the healthcare system must be doing something right. By that metric, the US looks more like Chile or Slovakia than the global superpower it is.
And it’s not just babies who are more at risk in the US. A study from the Commonwealth Foundation found that American mothers are twice as likely to die during or shortly after childbirth than their Canadian peers, and more than 10 times as likely as women in New Zealand.
Part of the problem comes down to a shortage of care for expectant mothers. The US has about 15 gynecologists per 1,000 live births, compared to 54 in the UK and 78 in Sweden. That means less attentive care during and after pregnancy, which can lead to early warnings going overlooked.
A heatmap detailing maternal mortality around the globe.
The Graphic Truth: Have global maternal mortality rates improved?
Maternal mortality – deaths that occur during pregnancy or childbirth – remains one of the most startling health indicators separating women in wealthy states from those in the developing world. While the global maternal mortality rate dropped by 34% in the two decades leading up to 2020, pregnancy and childbirth are still often deadly experiences for women, particularly in Africa, where they often lack access to pre and postpartum care. Throughout much of the West, meanwhile, rates of maternal mortality increased from 2016-2020. We take a look at the change in maternal mortality rates since 2000.