VOA慢速英语2015 柬埔寨营养改善项目获得成功

AS IT IS 2015-05-11 Project in Cambodia Finds Success in Improving Nutrition 柬埔寨营养改善项目获得成功

Malnutrition¹ remains² a serious problem in Cambodia. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says that one in three children under the age of five suffers from poor growth brought about by a poor diet.

Cambodia grows enough rice to feed its people. But millions still do not get enough vitamins and minerals. This lack of micronutrients affects mental and physical development and can cause lifelong problems.

Adding nutrients³ to food

Tim Green is a nutrition expert from Canada's University of British Columbia. He led a pilot food project in a rural province of Cambodia. It was successful in improving the nutrition of hundreds of families. Now, the program is expanding.

Mr. Green says that experts consider diversity of foods an important part of a healthy diet. Generally, he says, the more kinds of meat, rice and vegetables that people eat, the better. But he says that is not the case in Cambodia, even though diets are reasonably diverse.

"Because what we find is that people eat tiny little amounts of food. So they may report eating pork (pig meat) every day, but it may only be five to 10 grams.”

The lack of nutrients is sometimes called "hidden hunger." It is especially a problem for children and women. For example, Mr. Green's research found that the lack of Vitamin B1 is common. This can result in very young babies dying in less than a day after showing signs of B1 deficiency⁴.

But, adding Vitamin B1 to fish sauce can solve the problem. The sauce is commonly used in Cambodian foods. Mr. Green’s team did just that.

“Fish on Farm” pilot program

The $3 million project is called “Fish on Farms.” The pilot was carried out in southeastern Prey⁵ Veng province. It targeted 900 poor families. The goal was to improve nutrition by diversifying⁶ their food intake⁷.

Organizers of the Canadian-funded project helped 300 families establish vegetable gardens. Another 300 got vegetable gardens and ponds in which to raise fish. The remaining 300 families were part of the control group and got nothing.

After three years the families with both fish ponds and vegetable gardens were doing better than those who only had vegetable gardens. All 600 families were doing better than the control group, says Tim Green.

"We saw increases in income, and that income was controlled by women and it was used mainly to buy other foods and education. We saw some improvements in other nutritional⁸ parameters⁹."

The successes of the pilot were expanded to a larger program that is to start later in May. It will target 4,500 poor families in four provinces.

Zaman Talukder is a technical advisor¹¹ on nutrition for Helen Keller International, a non-profit group involved in both projects. Mr. Talukder says the pilot food program increased the availability of different foods and the consumption¹² of those foods by those who need it most: women and children. And he noted¹³ another benefit.

"…It gives additional income. It [is] also one of the best interventions¹⁴ to empower women who are the decision-makers for household consumption and family health."

The new program is different in several ways. First, it will require families to pay some of the costs to establish fish ponds, vegetable gardens or bird farms.

Also, families will receive advice on clean water, waste systems, and nutrition education. They will be able to borrow small amounts of money. Finally, the project will help them to sell extra food they produce.

The results from these two projects will be included in Cambodian policy plans for malnutrition. The country has come a long way in fighting hunger, but ending "hidden hunger" in Cambodia will take more work.

Words in This Story

pilot – adj. (always used before a noun) done as a test to see if a larger program, study, etc., should be done

diversity – n. the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc.

deficiency – n. a lack of something that is needed : the state of not having enough of something necessary

pond – n. an area of water that is surrounded by land and that is smaller than a lake

parameter¹⁰ – n. a rule or limit that controls what something is or how something should be done — usually plural¹⁵

malnutrition – n. the unhealthy condition that results from not eating enough food or not eating enough healthy food

1 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 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》

4 deficiency   

n.缺乏，不足，缺点，缺陷

参考例句：

• During the war children suffered from a deficiency of food.战争期间孩子们遭受缺乏食物之苦。
• Fortunately,color deficiency is not a serious medical problem.幸运的是，色盲并不是一种严重的医学问题。

5 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

6 diversifying   

v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的现在分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• Some publishers are now diversifying into software. 有些出版社目前正兼营软件。 来自辞典例句
• Silverlit is diversifying into new markets, such as Russia and Eastern Europe. Silverlit正在使他们的市场变得多样化，开发新的市场如俄罗斯和东欧国家。 来自互联网

7 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

8 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。

9 parameters   

因素，特征； 界限； （限定性的）因素( parameter的名词复数 )； 参量； 参项； 决定因素

参考例句：

• We have to work within the parameters of time. 我们的工作受时间所限。
• See parameters.cpp for a compilable example. This is part of the Spirit distribution. 可编译例子见parameters.cpp.这是Spirit分发包的组成部分。

10 parameter   

n.参数，参量

参考例句：

• It is the parameter of distribution.这就是分布参数。
• One parameter which always comes into play is the national economy.国民经济是一个经常起作用的参量。

11 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

12 consumption   

n.消费，消耗，消费额，消耗量，结核病

参考例句：

• Consumption of oil has declined in recent years.石油消耗量在最近几年下降了。
• The meat was condemned as unfit for human consumption.这种肉已被宣布不适宜人们食用。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 interventions   

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

15 plural   

n.复数；复数形式；adj.复数的

参考例句：

• Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
• Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。