The international community came together Saturday at the United Nations to find ways to mitigate the current crisis in the Horn of Africa, but also to prevent future ones from happening. At the meeting, the World Bank chief announced nearly $2 billion in new funding for drought and famine related efforts in the region.
国际社会星期六在联合国聚集在一起，寻找减轻非洲之角地区目前危机，以及防止未来再次出现类似饥荒危机的途径。世界银行行长在会议中宣布新提供将近20亿美元的资金，用于非洲之角地区干旱和饥荒救灾行动。
The United Nations has been warning about the growing crisis in the Horn of Africa for months. In Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti there are more than 13 million people in dire need of assistance after a devastating drought triggered a famine.
联合国几个月来一直在对非洲之角地区不断恶化的危机发出警告。一场灾难性的干旱引发饥荒之后，埃塞俄比亚、肯尼亚、索马里和吉布提，有1千3百多万人急需救援。
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the gathering that the epicenter of the crisis is in Somalia, where 750,000 people are at risk of imminent starvation and four million people need urgent humanitarian assistance.
联合国秘书长潘基文告诉与会者，这场危机最严重的地区在索马里，那里有75万人有很快饿死的危险，有4百万人需要紧急人道主义援助。
He blamed Islamic extremists who are battling the Somali government for exacerbating the crisis.
他谴责和索马里政府交战的伊斯兰极端分子，加剧了这场危机。
"We have made progress in helping those most in need in Somalia. But it is still not enough," said Ban. "We could save many more lives if we were given free access to areas under the control of Al-Shabab. It is no coincidence that these are the districts where the crisis is most acute. Somalia will never be free of the threat of famine until it has peace and stability."
潘基文说：“我们在帮助索马里那些最需要帮助的民众方面取得了进展。但是还不够。如果我们能够自由畅通地到达索马里青年党控制下的地区，我们就能够拯救多得多的生命。这些地区处于危机最严重的地区并不是巧合，没有和平与稳定，索马里永远不会摆脱饥荒的威胁。”
Additional aid
World Bank President Robert Zoellick addressed the summit via a video link. He announced the institution would increase its support to drought affected Horn of Africa countries from $500 million to nearly $2 billion to address short-term needs and fund long-term recovery.
世界银行行长佐利克通过视频连线向峰会发表了讲话。他宣布世行将把对受干旱影响的非洲之角国家的支援从5亿美元提高到将近20亿美元，以解决短期的需求，并资助长期的恢复项目。
"I am pleased to announce $1.88 billion in this program," said Zoellick. "It will cover three overlapping challenges: first rapid response to strengthen safety nets; second, to support the economic recovery through restoring livelihoods and jobs; and third, drought resilience to help farmers prepare for what is to come."
他说：“我很高兴宣布这个总值18.8亿美元的项目。该项目将涵盖三个互相交叉重叠的挑战：第一，快速做出反应，强化安全网络；第二，通过恢复生计和就业，来支持经济复苏；第三，对干旱的适应能力，帮助农民准备应对未来的干旱。”
Climate change
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga was among the African leaders attending Saturday's mini-summit who warned of the impact of climate change on the continent.
肯尼亚总理奥廷加也在星期六出席此次小型峰会的非洲国家领导人之列。他警告气候变化对非洲大陆造成的影响。
"The current drought and famine is partly the consequence of unmitigated impacts of climate change in our midst," said Odinga. "Adaption to climate change, therefore, needs to be a central theme in all future strategies and actions."
他说：“目前的干旱和饥荒部分要归因于我们身边发生的气候变化没有减轻的影响所造成的后果。因此，适应气候变化，需要在今后所有的战略和行动中成为一个中心主题。”
Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn echoed that, saying food insecurity in the region is shifting from settled farm communities to pastoral areas because of the effects of global warming.
埃塞俄比亚副总理德萨莱尼也支持这种观点，他表示，由于全球变暖的影响，这个地区的粮食不安全从农耕社区向畜牧业地区转移。
"The impact of climate change on pastoral areas is more pronounced, as can be seen from the exceptionally harsh drought this year," said Desalegn. "It is clear now that pastoralism as way of life is fast becoming unviable and addressing the root cause of the problem must start from such a realization."
德萨莱尼说：“气候变化对畜牧业地区的影响更加显著，这一点可以从今年极端严重的干旱当中看到。现在很清楚的是，畜牧业作为一种谋生方式，正在很快变得难以为继，要解决这个问题的根源，必须从这样一种认识开始。”
Regional countries also expressed concern about the numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons from the crisis; the high number of fatalities; and the fear that the coming rainy season could compound problems with flooding and water-borne diseases.
非洲之角地区国家还对由于这场危机而出现的难民、各国国内流离失所的民众、高死亡率以及即将到来的雨季可能造成洪水以及水灾导致疾病的担忧表达了关注。 |