Famine Spreads to New Region in Somalia

 　　The United Nations says more than half of Somalia's population, four million people, is now in crisis as famine spreads, and 750,000 are at risk of death.

　　The U.N. Office for the Coordination¹ of Humanitarian² Affairs in Somalia reported Monday that famine has extended to Bay, a major food-producing region, and is expected to continue spreading unless aid is increased. The agency says tens of thousands of people have died and hundreds are dying each day, at least half of them children.

　　The agency’s Somalia coordinator³ Mark Bowden says much more assistance is needed. “The next four months will be critical in which we have to stabilize⁴ the situation,” he said. “The message has been coming across consistently: this is not a short-term crisis.”

　　The U.N. has appealed for $1.1-billion to respond to the crisis and has raised about 60 percent of that amount, and Bowden says U.N. workers have been able to scale up activities in recent weeks as donors⁵ responded to earlier declarations of famine.

　　The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization stepped in with cash and seed programs to help keep farmers on their land, but program director Luca Alinovi says it is difficult to secure funding for longer-term programs.

　　“Mainly we receive money in response to the humanitarian crisis,” said Alinovi. “It is very difficult to get money for a longer-term initiative because most of the donors … want to have a functioning government.”

　　Logistical challenges

　　Somalia presents numerous logistical challenges to aid agencies, not the least of which is that the country has not had a functioning central government for the past 20 years.

　　The al-Qaida linked militant⁶ group al-Shabab continues to hold influence in parts of the country, threatening the security of aid workers.  The U.N. says it is in discussions with the militant group to get access to some of those areas.

　　Global response

　　The African Union said last month at a donors conference that it has raised more than $350 million in cash for drought and famine relief.  The AU has been criticized for its slow response to the crisis, which has forced hundreds of thousands of Somalis to flee their homes in search of food and water. Before the conference, the 54-member bloc⁷ had pledged only $500,000 in aid.

　　The United States has pledged more than $500 million in food and refugee assistance.  The European Union and its member countries have pledged more than $750 million, while the Organization of the Islamic Conference has pledged $350 million.

　　With the current humanitarian response level, the U.N. estimates most of southern Somalia will be in famine by the end of the year.

1 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

2 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

3 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

4 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

5 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

7 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。