2006年VOA标准英语-Child Mortality Rate Increases in Zimbabwe

By Tendai Maphosa
Harare
25 October 2006
 

Silver Packry, right, feeds one of her children while her mother, left, looks on in Harare, October 17, 2006

Child mortality is on the increase in Zimbabwe, according to the country's health minister.

Health Minister David Parirenyatwa is quoted in the state-controlled daily newspaper, The Herald¹ as saying one in every 15 Zimbabwean children will die before his first birthday. Quoting the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey, Parirenyatwa added that one in 10 children would die before turning five.

The survey shows a rise from 59 to 102 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1985 and 1999. It also shows that more children die in rural than urban areas.

Maternal² mortality more than doubled from 283 per 100,000 live births in 1994 to 695 between 1995 and 1999.

Parirenyatwa says one of the reasons for the increases was the high cost of health care, which is beyond the reach of the majority of Zimbabweans. He says, although public health institutions should not charge anything for treating children under five or pregnant mothers who cannot pay, some insist on payment.

Zimbabwe's health care system, once among the best in Africa, is reeling under the HIV and AIDS pandemic,compounded by a worsening economic crisis, which has caused an exodus³ of trained personnel to other countries and a severe shortage of drugs.

1 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

2 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

3 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。