VOA慢速英语--联合国警告阿富汗将出现大规模粮食危机

UN Warns of Massive Food Crisis in Afghanistan

The United Nations has warned that Afghanistan is facing a massive food crisis. It urged the international community to act quickly to increase levels of humanitarian¹ aid to help the people.

The director of the U.N.'s World Food Programme (WFP), David Beasley, said millions of Afghans could die of starvation unless immediate² action is taken to provide assistance.

Beasley told Reuters an estimated 23 million people currently face severe food insecurity and were "marching to starvation." This compares to 14 million people who were facing the same situation just two months ago.

"Children are going to die. People are going to starve," Beasley said. "Things are going to get a lot worse."

He added: "I don't know how you don't have millions of people, and especially children, dying at the rate we are going with the lack of funding and the collapsing³ of the economy."

Afghanistan's economic situation worsened in August after Taliban fighters drove out the country's Western-backed government and seized power. The Taliban takeover led many international donors⁴ to hold back billions of dollars in assistance.

The food crisis has worsened because of the effects of climate change. It was severe even before the Taliban took over the government. Now, the Taliban is blocked from accessing money and property held outside the country by nations still deciding how to deal with the Taliban government.

Beasley said that money already meant for development assistance should be repurposed for humanitarian aid. Some countries have already redirected aid in this way. Beasley added that money frozen by other nations could be released through U.N. agencies. "You've got to unfreeze these funds so people can survive," he said.

U.N. officials have said the World Food Programme needs up to $220 million a month to partly feed the millions of Afghans facing food insecurity as winter nears.

Economic problems have led many Afghans to sell personal belongings⁵ to pay for food, Reuters reported. The latest food crisis has hit both cities and rural areas.

Aid groups have urged countries that are concerned about human rights under the Taliban to start negotiations⁶ with the new rulers before the situation gets worse. Beasley said a total economic collapse⁷ in Afghanistan could create a massive refugee flow similar to the 2015 migration⁸ crisis from Syria into Europe.

"I don't think the leaders in the world realize what is coming their way," Beasley said.

When asked about the country's humanitarian crisis, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Agence France-Presse on Sunday: "We are trying to get our people out of the current situation and help them. He added that "humanitarian aid has also arrived."

Mujahid said the government was attempting to collect and give out necessities to those in need, including food and clothing. He promised, "All worries will be resolved."

Words in This Story

funding – n. money given by a government or organization for an event or activity

access – n. a way of getting near, at or to something or someone

repurpose – v. to find a new use for an idea, product or building

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

4 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》

5 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

8 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。