The United Nations World Food Program says it may have to ground a vital humanitarian air service to parts of Africa this month because of a severe funding shortage. The WFP says some of the poorest countries in Africa will be deprived of critical assistance, unless donations are immediately received to keep the air service going.
联合国世界粮食计划署说，因为资金严重缺乏，本月到非洲部分地区的关键人道主义空中飞行可能不得不停运。这个联合国机构说，非洲一些最贫穷的国家将被剥夺关键的援助，除非立即得到援款来保证航空运输的飞行。
The United Nations World Food Program says Chad could be the first country to fall victim to this funding crisis. The humanitarian aid agency says its air service to the war-torn Central African country will run out of money by August 15. And, this will force the agency to ground flights carrying aid workers to camps for refugees and internally displaced people.
联合国世界粮食计划署说，乍得将是这次资金危机的第一个受害国。这个人道主义救援机构说，粮食计划署向非洲中部这个保受战争蹂躏的国家的空运服务将于8月15号耗尽资金。这就会迫使该计划署停止运送援助工作者到难民营和那些在国内无家可归的人们设立的营地。
WFP Spokeswoman Emilia Casella says the air service flies about 4,000 humanitarian aid workers every month to 10 destinations in Chad. She says the workers represent 100 organizations. And, they provide aid to 250,000 refugees from Sudan's conflict-ridden province of Darfur and 180,000 internally displaced people.
该计划署(WFP)发言人卡塞拉女士说，通过空运，每个月可以把大约4千名人道救援工作人员送到乍得的10个不同地区。她说，这些工作人员代表着来自世界上上百个不同的组织和机构，这些工作人员负责为25万名来自苏丹达尔富尔地区的难民、以及18万乍得难民，提供援助。
"They said, without this service, NGOs [non-governmental organizations] and agencies will be unable to reach operation areas in the east and south of the country, and it is an area that is particularly insecure and difficult," said Casella. "And, in many of these areas, either the roads are impassable due to insecurity or due to poor weather and poor road conditions."
这位发言人说：“假如这项服务被取消的话，很多非政府组织以及各个机构将不再能够到达乍得东部和南部的地区运作，而那些地区正是特别缺乏安全感、很难办的地区。”她说：“同时在很多地方，由于安全上的原因、气候因素、以及路况不佳，没有飞机的话根本就到达不了。”
The UN Humanitarian Air Service flies humanitarian workers to some of the hardest-to-reach emergency operations in the world. It provides vital assistance for hundreds of thousands of victims of conflict and natural disasters in remote, inaccessible areas.
The service flies in the doctors needed to care for the sick and the injured. It transports the water engineers that build the wells that provide clean water. And it brings in the people who provide food for the hungry.
Casella says the amount of money needed to keep this service going is relatively small. She says only $6.7 million is needed to maintain the air service in Chad until the end of the year.
发言人卡塞拉说，维持飞行业务运行所需资金较少，维持乍得航空运输持续到年底前的资金只需670万美元。
Casella says the service to the West African coastal region also is under threat. She says flights to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea will have to be cut by the end of the month because of lack of money.
她认为，西部非洲沿海地区的航行服务目前也受到威胁。由于资金短缺，飞往利比里亚、塞拉利昂以及加纳的航班月底将削减。
"The difficulty with that service is there is actually only one plane," said Casella. "So, if we cannot afford to keep the plane in the air, those countries will cease to have any way to get humanitarian workers to very important field operations. And, what I am talking about is really the ability of all of my colleagues, organizations here as well as NGOs to get to the people who need help."
Casella says only $3.3 million dollars is needed to keep the plane flying to these West African countries until the end of the year. She considers this a bargain considering the humanitarian returns. |