2006年VOA标准英语-British Agency Says Aid Money to Africa Wasted

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
03 October 2006

A British-based international agency says more than 120 million Africans face starvation and other emergency situations because the international aid system is failing to raise and spend money wisely.

----

malnutrition1 lies in the hospital in Maradi, Niger " src="/upimg/allimg/070429/1122240.jpg" width="210" border="0" /> Firdaoussi Saadou a ten-month-old girl who weighs 3.2 kilograms  suffering from malnutrition lies in the hospital in Maradi, Niger (File photo - July 25, 2005)

Aid money to fight starvation, malnutrition and other crises in Africa rose from $944 million in 1997 to $3 billion in 2003, yet 120 million Africans continue to live on the edge of emergency, according to Care International U.K.

The aid agency says this is because most aid arrives only after a crisis is full-blown, the money targets inappropriate measures, and most of the funding is for short-term food relief.

Care International U.K.'s chief executive, Geoffrey Dennis, tells VOA he has just returned from drought-stricken northeastern Kenya, where he met a herdsman named Joseph who had 70 cattle at this time last year.

"All the cattle have died and he now needs emergency food, water, and shelter. If we had been able to get sufficient funds a year ago, this could have been avoided," he said. "We could have provided fodder³ for his animals, we could have certainly worked on maintenance of existing boreholes of water, we could have helped him manage and market better the animals that he had got, and we would have also have suggested to him that he should get a mixed herd² of camels, goats, and other large stock."

During this year's drought in Horn of Africa, donors⁴ paid for food distributions to help the 11 million affected⁵ by the drought. But the report says 83 percent of proposed initiatives to protect the livestock⁶ that people depend on for their livelihoods⁷ and other non-food measures were turned down by donors.

The agency says the funding of longer-term preventative initiatives as a crisis is developing is much more efficient than emergency relief.

For instance, it would have cost $1 per day per child to prevent malnutrition in the West African nation of Niger prior to the country's 2005 famine. But, by July 2006, it cost $80 to save a child's life.

The report urges the international aid system to channel more money into solving the root causes of emergencies, such as climate change, the HIV/AIDS epidemic⁸, the lack of local markets, and poverty in general. Long-term programs could include seed distribution, improved veterinary services, and income generating activities.

But, says Care International's Dennis, the world tends to respond mostly to crisis situations.

"It is quite difficult to get money from institutional donors at the time of a kind of spiraling down toward an emergency," he said. "It is much easier at the moment to get money at the time of an emergency. It is far better, obviously if we can prevent it in a situation like an ongoing⁹ drought situation."

Dennis urges governments, institutional donors, aid agencies, the media and others to fund long-term initiatives that go beyond immediate¹⁰ food aid.

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 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

3 fodder   

n.草料；炮灰

参考例句：

• Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
• Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。

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 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 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

7 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

8 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 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。