2006年VOA标准英语-Bangladesh Makes Progress in Providing Sanitati

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
12 November 2006 

Indian girl collects drinking water from a tank at a slum in New Delhi (File photo)

In its latest human development report, the United Nations says one of the world's poorest countries, Bangladesh, has made dramatic progress in providing sanitation¹ to low-income communities, and urges developing countries such as India and Pakistan to follow suit. 

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Less than one-third of Indians have access to sanitation, according to the recent report prepared by the United Nations Development Program. The situation is even worse in neighboring Pakistan, especially in teeming² cities like Lahore and Karachi. The result: more than half-a-million people in these two countries die every year from water-borne diseases like diarrhea.

Arunabha Ghosh, one of the writers of the U.N. report, says the lack of access to sanitation and clean water also creates an enormous drain on the growing economies of the South Asian region.

"Thirty-six-billion dollars is lost due to productivity losses or increased health costs because of the number affected³ by water-related diseases," said Ghosh. "So, for a fast growing region like South Asia, there is a huge economic waste that can be countered by addressing this problem."

But the U.N. says an even poorer country, Bangladesh, has demonstrated that the situation can be dramatically different.

Less than a decade ago, Bangladesh had one of the worst records for sanitation in rural areas. Then more than 600 non-profit groups in the country got together to launch what is known as the "Total Sanitation Campaign."

Ghosh at the U.N. says the program involves a three-step strategy to make individuals understand the crucial role that sanitation plays in preventing disease.

"The first of it is disgust. Community leaders take other members of the community around the slum to create disgust about human and animal excreta," said Ghosh. "The second is increasing awareness⁴ about what that means for health, so individuals themselves realize how this impacts their life chances."

"And then the third step is mobilizing both community resources and government resources to provide low-tech sanitation facilities," continued Ghosh. "Bangladesh has become a world leader in building low-tech toilets, which are cheap and affordable⁵."

The successful community-based program led to the creation of sanitation facilities across thousands of villages and urban slums. It has now been scaled up into a national project, and aims to achieve nationwide sanitation coverage⁶ by 2010.

The U.N. says the same community model is being attempted in parts of India, China and Cambodia, but needs to be broadened to cover larger parts of these countries.

1 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

2 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

3 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。

4 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

5 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

6 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。