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2006年VOA标准英语-2006: A Terrible Year for Africa's Children

时间:2007-05-14 02:35:59

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By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
22 December 2006

Africa has the highest infant and under-five child-mortality rate in the world. It also has the lowest life expectancy1 at birth. The statistics paint a grim picture of what it means to be a child in Africa. The past year has seen children caught in conflict, children killed, abused and exploited. But, within this gloomy scenario2, some bright spots of hope emerge. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

 
Somali child suffering from malaria3 lies in bed at hospital in Hagadhera refugee camp, northeast of Nairobi
The U.N. Children's Fund sees the situation of children in Africa as a patchwork4 quilt of good and bad news, but, mostly bad.

"An absolutely, absolutely terrible year for children in Africa. We are looking at man-made as well as natural disasters. In the Horn of Africa, particularly bad, " said UNICEF spokesman, Michael Bociurkiw.

He says about 1.5 million people are affected5 by heavy flooding in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

"By the end of the year, right around the time people are celebrating Christmas in other parts of the world, we are talking about three million people affected by the floods. And, a high percentage of that is children. I would say at least one-third are children that are being affected," he added.

And, then, he says, there is the scourge6 of AIDS, which has orphaned7 children in unprecedented8 numbers.

"For example, by the end of 2005, 12 million children across sub-Saharan Africa had been orphaned by AIDS," he said. "You have a lot of stories in places like Darfur, for instance, of children if not losing their parents, they themselves are victims of killings9, of torture, of being drafted into military service. You name it, the problems are there."

"The refugee children are facing the same kind of problem that all forcible displaced persons are facing," said Marie-Christine Boucom, Deputy Director of the African bureau at the U.N. refugee agency. "That means security, the need for assistance. But, because of the natural vulnerability, because they are children, they are also exposed to some additional problems."

She says women and children comprise three-quarters of the 2.6 million refugees in Africa. And, 44 percent of them are children under 18. She says refugee children are sometimes separated from their parents. It may take years before their parents are traced. Sometimes, they are never found.

"Because of their vulnerability, they may be much more exposed or sexually abused," she said. "And, also to military recruitment. You know countries that are under a conflict, this is a recurrent problem of recruitment of children."

The United Nations says there are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers around the world. Most are fighting in conflicts in Africa.

 
Young refugee child stares from  makeshift camp set up by villagers forced from their home in violence that has spilled over from Sudan's neighboring Darfur province to eastern Chad
In the midst of these tragedies, Bocum says there is some good news to report. She says many long-enduring conflicts have ended, and after years in exile thousands of refugees are going home. She says about 90,000 refugees have gone back to Sudan and more than 400,000 refugees and internally displaced people have returned to Liberia.

"We also have a repatriation10 to DRC, Democratic Republic of Congo, which is going on well. The repatriation to Angola is almost at an end. So, there are some success stories at least. So, it is not all bad," she said.

A recent report by the World Health Organization calls sub-Saharan Africa the most dangerous region in the world for a baby to be born. It says nearly 1.2 million babies die in the first 28 days of life. But, it says about 800,000 of these lives could be saved by applying a few simple medical procedures.

WHO Child and Adolescent Health Department Director Elizabeth Mason says they include immunizing women against tetanus to prevent neo-natal tetanus and providing a skilled attendant at birth.

"Treating newborn infections promptly11 and educating mothers about proper hygiene12, keeping the baby warm and exclusively breast-feeding their infant," she said. "These interventions13 are also not expensive. They would cost approximately, $1.39 US per capita or one billion dollars a year."

Dr. Mason says six low-income African countries have made significant progress in reducing deaths among newborn babies by using some of these measures. She says the reduction ranges from 47 percent in Eritrea, to 39 percent in Burkina Faso and 20 percent in Tanzania and Malawi.


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1 expectancy tlMys     
n.期望,预期,(根据概率统计求得)预期数额
参考例句:
  • Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
  • The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。
2 scenario lZoxm     
n.剧本,脚本;概要
参考例句:
  • But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
  • This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。
3 malaria B2xyb     
n.疟疾
参考例句:
  • He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
  • Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。
4 patchwork yLsx6     
n.混杂物;拼缝物
参考例句:
  • That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
  • She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上,所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。
5 affected TzUzg0     
adj.不自然的,假装的
参考例句:
  • She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
  • His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。
6 scourge FD2zj     
n.灾难,祸害;v.蹂躏
参考例句:
  • Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
  • The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后,不称职的人就遭殃了。
7 orphaned ac11e48c532f244a7f6abad4cdedea5a     
[计][修]孤立
参考例句:
  • Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
  • He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。
8 unprecedented 7gSyJ     
adj.无前例的,新奇的
参考例句:
  • The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
  • A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。
9 killings 76d97e8407f821a6e56296c4c9a9388c     
谋杀( killing的名词复数 ); 突然发大财,暴发
参考例句:
  • His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
  • The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
10 repatriation efc8b0769e13d125d7e05d6422dd8e59     
n.遣送回国,归国
参考例句:
  • The Volrep programme is the preferred means of repatriation. 政府认为自愿遣返计划的遣返方法较为可取。 来自互联网
  • Arrange the cargo claiming and maritime affairs,crews repatriation,medical treatment,traveling so on. (六)洽办货物理赔,船舶海事处理,办理船员遣返,就医,旅游等。 来自互联网
11 promptly LRMxm     
adv.及时地,敏捷地
参考例句:
  • He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
  • She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。
12 hygiene Kchzr     
n.健康法,卫生学 (a.hygienic)
参考例句:
  • Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
  • He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。
13 interventions b4e9b73905db5b0213891229ce84fdd3     
n.介入,干涉,干预( intervention的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
  • The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

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