A new cancer study from the World Health Organization

 

This is AS IT IS, from VOA Learning English.  

I’m Christopher Cruise.

Today, Steve Ember tells us about a new cancer study from the World Health Organization. Health experts are predicting a big increase in cancer in the world’s big cities.

I’ll tell you about a group that is using vaccinations¹ to try to keep tens of thousands of girls in eight countries from developing cervical cancer.   

And June Simms takes us to a Roman Catholic school for African-American girls in Washington, DC. In the nation’s capital, fewer than half of the children finish high school. But at this school, 90 percent do. 

The World Health Organization reports that one-third of all cancer deaths are preventable. The VOA’s Steve Ember tells us about a new study that finds cancer is still a leading cause of death worldwide.

WHO officials say more than two-thirds of the new cases and deaths take place in developing countries. And they say the number of cases is increasing at a frightening rate.  

Andreas Ullrich is a medical officer with WHO’s Department of Chronic² Diseases and Health Promotion³. He says the future outlook is grim.

“With population aging, in particularly in exposure to major risk factors like tobacco, we expect that over the next 20 years that the number of new cases per year will double.”

Dr. Ullrich notes that some activities can increase your risk of cancer. Major risk factors include tobacco use, drinking alcoholic⁴ products and lack of physical activity. He says health experts are predicting a major increase in cancer in the world’s cities. 

The medical official says changing the way you live can help prevent the disease. He also says some cancers can be prevented through vaccinations. Among them he noted⁵ hepatitis B -- a cause of liver cancer -- and human papilloma virus -- a cause of cervical cancer.  

The WHO released results of a study for World Cancer Day, which was observed last week. The study found that more than half of all countries worldwide lack a complete plan for fighting cancer. Only 17 percent of the African countries in the study have control plans to prevent, identify, treat and care for cancer patients. None have a budget to support such a program.

I’m Steve Ember

The GAVI Alliance is a partnership⁶ between public health officials and private industry. The group provides vaccines⁸ to developing countries. Recently, the alliance announced plans for an immunization campaign to protect 180 thousand girls from cervical cancer. It has chosen eight countries to start administering the vaccine⁷ for human papillomavirus, or HPV. Most cervical cancers result from HPV. The virus is passed through sex. 

Seth Berkley is chief executive officer of the GAVI Alliance. He says the disease affects many women.  

“A woman dies every two minutes from cervical cancer; this kills women than childbirth.” 

Dr. Berkley says an estimated 275,000 women die from this cancer each year. And 85 percent of the victims are in the developing world. He warns that, without intervention⁹, the estimate would be 430 thousand deaths a year by 2030.

The HPV vaccine is given to girls between the ages of nine and 13. It is only effective before someone is infected with the virus. 

The HPV vaccine will be administered as part of school programs in Laos and seven African countries -- Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. Dr. Berkley notes that efforts must be made to reach girls who are not in school. 

A Roman Catholic school in Washington DC is making a difference for African-American girls. In their communities, more than half of all students end their education before high school. The VOA’s June Simms takes us there.

One hundred students attend this Catholic day school. They come from low-income homes. Many of the girls are raised by a single parent or grandparent.

Sister Mary Bourdon opened the school 14 years ago. Private donors¹⁰ pay most of the costs.  

The school is in a community where pregnancy¹¹ rates among young women are high. Many girls may leave the school early. 

Sister Mary Bourdon says her plan was for the school to intervene in young lives, pointing them toward a happier adulthood¹².

“One of the first things is to get the teachers who can excite them about learning. They get personal individual attention.” 

Class sizes are small, giving teachers like Kelly Lockard a chance to work with students one at a time. 

“If I’m able to develop that relationship with them, and if they’re able to feel comfortable with me, that helps with the intrinsic motivation, and it helps with them just relaxing and being comfortable to be able to ask whatever questions they need to ask about math or about life.” 

She says this kind of atmosphere helps the girls develop a desire to learn.

A student named Makayla wishes there were more schools like hers.

“It provides you with a good education. It helps you be the best that you can be.” 

Ninety percent of the students at the Washington Middle School for Girls finish high school. That compares with less than 50 percent at public schools in the city. 

I’m June Simms.

And that is today’s edition of “As It Is,” our new show in VOA Special English. Every day we’ll go in-depth on the latest news events, and report on issues that concern you. We’ll talk with newsmakers, lawmakers, experts and VOA’s reporters around the globe to help you make sense of our fast-moving and ever-changing world.

You can tell us what you want to hear on our new show. We want to report on the issues and ideas that matter to you in your world, As It Is and as you want it to be.

1 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

3 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

4 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

5 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。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

8 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

9 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

10 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

12 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。