• Malaria vaccine rollout begins in Cameroon. The Guardian.
• Tobacco use declines with only 1 in 5 adults worldwide consuming tobacco compared to 1 in 3 in 2000. PAHO.
• Cancer mortality is down 33% in America in the past three decades, saving an estimated 4.1 million lives, and as many as two-thirds of all cancers can now be treated as chronic conditions or cured outright. American Cancer Society (PDF link).
• Thanks to the HPV vaccine, no cases of invasive cervical cancer were recorded in women immunized at 12 or 13 years of age in Scotland. JNCI.
• 248 million people in India have escaped multidimensional poverty in the last nine years. NITI Aayog (PDF link).
• 21 megacities improved their air pollution levels between 2017 and 2022. DW.
• During 2023, violent crime plummeted to its lowest level in the United States since the 1960s, and by the end of the year inflation had been tamed and unemployment was at historic lows. The Atlantic.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• Cape Verde reaches malaria-free milestone. BBC.
• Eastern and Southern Africa have nearly achieved gender parity in primary education, with 25 million more girls enrolled in primary school today than in the early 2000s. The World Bank.
• Twenty-two states increased their minimum wages in January. The Washington Post.
• Hennepin County, Minnesota, has reduced its homeless population by almost 36% in just two years. Bloomberg.
• 2023 was one of aviation’s safest years on record with zero jet aircraft crashes. Simple Flying.
• The scimitar horned oryx has been brought back from the brink of extinction. ZSL.
• Deforestation rate of the Amazon rainforest halved in 2023. BBC.
• Global annual renewable capacity additions increased by almost 50% to nearly 510 gigawatts in 2023, the fastest growth rate in the past two decades. IEA.
• Renewables hit 55% of German electricity mix. ReNews.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• Nearly 100,000 fewer people died in wars and armed conflicts during 2023 compared to 2022. Warp News.
• Renewable energy’s share on German power grids reaches 55% in 2023. Reuters.
• Uruguay now produces up to 98% of its electricity from renewables. The Guardian.
• Scientists hail new antibiotic that can kill drug-resistant bacteria. The Guardian.
• Wage growth is beating inflation. Axios.
• Ten inspiring signs of progress from the past year. Greater Good Magazine.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.

• The minimum wage is going up in 22 states on Jan. 1. Axios.
• UK electricity from fossil fuels drops to lowest level since 1957. CarbonBrief.
• Good climate news in 2023. MIT Technology Review.
• The year in gun violence solutions. The Trace.
• What went right in 2023. The Wall Street Journal.
• In 1900, the average life expectancy of a newborn was 32 years. By 2021 this had more than doubled to 71 years. Our World in Data.

For more good news, check out Future Crunch and The Progress Network.