IN THE NEWS - On World AIDS Day, Governments Are Urged to Ke

IN THE NEWS - On World AIDS Day, Governments Are Urged to Keep Their Promises
By Cynthia Kirk

Broadcast: Saturday, December 03, 2005

I'm Steve Ember with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

World AIDS Day is observed each December first. World health ministers started the campaign eighteen years ago. This year, the message was "Keeping the Promise." The idea was to urge governments to do more to stop AIDS.

The United Nations AIDS program and the World Health Organization recently presented their yearly¹ AIDS report. It says more than forty million people live with H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS, or with AIDS itself. There were five million new cases this year. More than half were in southern Africa. And more than half were among young people and women.

 
An HIV-positive woman has her hands massaged² by a community health worker in the Kibera slum³ in Nairobi
The report says about three million people will have died this year of AIDS-related causes.

AIDS has killed more than twenty million people since it was first discovered twenty-five years ago. In some countries, it has lowered the average life expectancy⁴ by as much as thirty years.

Countries in southern Africa continue to be the worst affected⁵, with more than twenty-five million cases. Millions of children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Many are raising themselves, or are being raised by grandparents, without public assistance⁶. And economies are suffering as a result of lost productivity⁷.

Experts say H.I.V. rates in Asia are low by comparison⁸. But they say AIDS is spreading in every part of the continent. India has the second highest number of infections after South Africa; both nations have more than five million cases. AIDS is also a growing problem in Indonesia, China and Russia.

This week, the W.H.O. warned that unless Asian governments do more, ten million people could be infected by two thousand ten. The Chinese government says it will spend one hundred million dollars this year on AIDS prevention and treatment.

The United States is leading efforts to expand treatment and prevention programs in developing countries. But critics note that the W.H.O.'s "Three-by-Five" plan to provide treatment to three million people by two thousand five has fallen short. Still, the director of the U.N. AIDS program, Peter Piot, says there are signs of progress in the fight against AIDS.

He says adult infection rates are down in several nations, including Kenya, Zimbabwe and some Caribbean countries. He says this improvement⁹ is largely¹⁰ because of increased use of condoms.

In general, many lives have also been saved with anti-viral drugs. But there is still no AIDS vaccine¹¹ and no cure. And health officials say drugs are not reaching enough people fast enough to save lives, especially in Africa.

In South Africa on World AIDS Day, the opposition¹² criticized¹³ the health minister for mixed messages about the value of anti-viral drugs.

IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English was written by Cynthia Kirk.  I'm Steve Ember.

1 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

2 massaged   

按摩，推拿( massage的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He massaged her back with scented oil. 他用芳香油按摩她的背部。
• The script is massaged into final form. 这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。

3 slum   

n.贫民窟，贫民区；vi.（因好奇而）逛贫民区

参考例句：

• These children came from a slum area.这些孩子来自贫民窟区。
• What a wretched existence the people in the slum lead!这个贫民窟里的人们过着多么令人悲惨的生活啊！

4 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 assistance   

n.援助，帮助

参考例句：

• She called and called but no one came to her assistance.她叫了又叫，但没有人来帮。
• He will get the great possible assistance.他将获得尽可能大的帮助。

7 productivity   

n.生产力，生产率，多产

参考例句：

• Farmers are introducing in novations which increase the productivity.农民们正引进提高生产力的新方法。
• The workers try to put up productivity.工人设法提高生产率。

8 comparison   

n.比较，对照；比拟，比喻

参考例句：

• They make a comparison of New York to a beehive.他们把纽约比作一个蜂巢。
• This dress is really cheaper by comparison.比较起来，这件衣服确实便宜。

9 improvement   

n.改进，增进；改进之处，改善的地方

参考例句：

• The doctor noticed a gradual improvement in his patient.医生注意到病人在逐渐恢复健康。
• I can detect signs of improvement in your thinking.我可以察觉出你思考问题方面的进步。

10 largely   

adv.大部分，主要地

参考例句：

• It is largely dependent on the weather.这多半取决于天气情况。
• Their conclusions were largely founded on guesswork.他们的结论大部份基于猜测。

11 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。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

13 criticized   

vt.批评(criticize的过去式)v.评论，批评( criticize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The decision was criticized by environmental groups. 这个决定受到了环保团体的批评。
• The movie has been criticized for apparently legitimizing violence. 这部电影因明显地美化暴力而受到了指责。