DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Child Nutrition Program

DEVELOPMENT REPORT – May 27, 2002: Child Nutrition Program

By Jill Moss¹

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
A new program has been launched to provide children in developing countries with more healthy foods.
Officials made the announcement this month during a three-day special conference on children at the United

Nations.

The new program is called “Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition,” or GAIN.
It aims to save at least two-thousand-million children around the world from health
problems linked to the lack of healthy foods.

Eating foods that lack nutrients² can lead to serious health problems. For example,
when pregnant mothers do not get enough nutrients, their babies may be born with
development problems. The baby’s brain might not grow to full size. A lack of
important vitamins and minerals in food causes many serious health problems including blindness.

Many important people in both government and business are working on the GAIN program. They include the
richest man in America, Bill Gates. He started Microsoft, the company that makes computer programs and
operating systems. Two years ago, Mister Gates and his wife Melinda decided³ to use some of their money to
create a private foundation in Seattle, Washington. The foundation is the biggest not-for-profit organization in the
world, with twenty-four-thousand-million dollars.

The Gates Foundation will give fifty-million dollars over five years to the GAIN program. The money will be
used to add vitamins and minerals to common foods, such as oil, flour and rice.

Several large American food companies are also involved in the program. They are Kraft Foods, Procter and
Gamble, and H-J-Heinz. These companies manufacture food products that are sold around the world. Through
GAIN, the companies will add extra vitamins and minerals to foods sold in poor nations. The companies will also
provide governments and small food producers with technology to improve the nutritional⁴ value of foods eaten in
local communities. Some of the added nutrients include iron, vitamin A, iodine⁵ and folic acid.

The World Health Organization, several other U-N agencies and the World Bank are involved in the GAIN
project. So are the governments of Japan, Germany and the United States. Organizers say the program is an
investment in the future and could save millions of lives.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.

 

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1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

5 iodine   

n.碘，碘酒

参考例句：

• The doctor painted iodine on the cut.医生在伤口上涂点碘酒。
• Iodine tends to localize in the thyroid.碘容易集于甲状腺。