DEVELOPMENT REPORT - Reproductive

DEVELOPMENT REPORT
–
July 1, 2002: Reproductive Health Report

28 Jun 2002, 21:24 UTC

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

A new report has been released about sexual¹ and reproductive health education for young people around the
world. Population Action International carried out the study. This not-for-profit organization is based in New
York City.

Researchers examined how seven countries dealt with the reproductive health needs
of their young people. The countries are Mexico, Iran, India, Ghana, Mali, the
Netherlands and the United States.

The study found that, except for the Netherlands, most countries are not doing
enough to teach young people the information they need about reproductive health.
For example, there are a growing number of reproductive health programs in Mali.
Yet seventy percent of the nineteen-year-old women in Mali are pregnant² or have a
child. Twenty percent of the women are married by age fifteen.

In Mexico, the government supports a program of sex education and family planning. However, teachers receive
little or no training on the subject. Some do not teach the subject at all.

Amy Coen is the head of Population Action International. She says the need for reproductive health policies
around the world has never been greater. The group estimates that half of the world’s population is younger
than twenty-five. That is three-thousand-million young people. Within the next fifteen years, all of them will
have reached reproductive age.

Population Action International says that countries will suffer if they fail to provide boys and girls with the
information they need to stay healthy and in school. It says young people need to know about sexuality, family
planning and having babies. It says young people also should have the ability to prevent disease and unwanted
pregnancies³.

In many countries, talking about sex and reproduction is considered wrong or against tradition. The group reports
a strong resistance among parents, teachers and policy makers⁴ to discuss issues of sexuality with young people. It
says this lack of openness is putting young people at risk. Young people have a high risk of diseases spread by
sexual activity, including AIDS. Half of all new infections of the AIDS virus are among people younger than
twenty-five.

Population Action International says countries that avoid open communication about this subject harm their
populations.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss⁵.

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1 sexual   

adj.性的，两性的，性别的

参考例句：

• He was a person of gross sexual appetites.他是个性欲旺盛的人。
• It is socially irresponsible to refuse young people advice on sexual matters.拒绝向年轻人提供性方面的建议是对社会不负责任。

2 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

3 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

4 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。