2006年VOA标准英语-South Africa to Announce Ambitious Plan to Comb

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
29 November 2006

As people around the world mark World AIDS Day, December 1, the government of South Africa is to announce an ambitious five-year plan to combat the disease, which is estimated to infect 11 percent of the population. The plan contains new strategies for the government, which has been widely criticized for its response to the disease. Correspondent Scott Bobb reports from Johannesburg.

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Plaque1 on Cotlands Memorial Wall in Johannesburg, S. Africa, where the ashes of babies died from HIV/AIDS are interred2 " hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070510/0955500.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

Plaque on Cotlands Memorial Wall in Johannesburg, S. Africa, where the ashes of babies died from HIV/AIDS are interred

AIDS activists³ in South Africa are expressing cautious optimism about a new five-year plan, aimed at combating the deadly virus.

The director of the HIV/AIDS program in the national health department, Dr. Nomonde Xundu says the new plan aims to address what she calls some deep limitations of the previous program.

"There are two main goals going forward, which is: reduction of the rate of new infection; also reducing the impact of AIDS on individuals, families, communities and society," noted⁴ Xundu.

She says the plan proposes to cut the rate of new HIV infections in half, within five years, a target which she admits is ambitious. The plan also aims to provide support to 80 percent of those already infected with HIV.

Such support includes hospice care and treatment with anti-retroviral drugs. It also includes programs to combat infectious diseases associated with HIV, such as tuberculosis⁵, and to boost psychological support and community awareness⁶. The previous plan was severely⁷ criticized because it did not set targets and did not have an evaluation⁸ system.

The head of the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, Dr. Francois Venter says key senior leaders in the South African government downplayed the gravity of the AIDS epidemic⁹. They blamed it on other diseases and, at times, undermined government programs by sending conflicting messages on how to deal with AIDS.

"Having that sort of leadership has meant we have gone nowhere for the last couple of years, other than [having] a government that has almost been forced into providing an anti-retroviral program that has been limited in terms of its scope," said Venter.

He says anti-retroviral drugs, which can prolong the life of an AIDS victim almost indefinitely, reached only 20 percent of those who needed them. As a result, more than one million South Africans died of AIDS, during the past five years.

The government was also severely criticized for ignoring AIDS groups in its policy making. But Dr. Xundu of the health department says this has changed and AIDS groups are now included in the government's National AIDS Council.

"There is a debate with civil society and experts as to how we make the decisions on the details of the targets themselves; but we agree on the high level, broad targets," she said.

Venter says the government has taken into account some major concerns of HIV/AIDS civic¹⁰ groups and, as a result, they now support the plan.

"The framework that will be released in December will be agreed to," said Venter. "The initial draft that was presented to us wasn't nearly ambitious enough, in terms of number of people being treated and a whole range of other indicators¹¹ that they were proposing."

However, he says some major concerns remain, such as testing for HIV and tuberculosis and reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

Because of such issues, the government is to announce a framework and set of principles to fight HIV/AIDS. It will announce a more detailed¹² plan next year.

The director of the AIDS Law Project, Mark Haywood, says he sees a new commitment, at the highest level of government.

"The South African government has clearly recognized that its approach to AIDS is not sustainable and is causing it embarrassment¹³, but perhaps most importantly of all is leading to many avoidable HIV infections and many avoidable deaths," said Haywood.

Dr. Xundu says the new plan does not represent a change of direction by the government, but rather a better understanding of the complexities¹⁴ of HIV/AIDS.

"It's [the plan is] enhancing and strengthening what is in place already; but also use the additional evidence and information to strengthen the strategies and programs going forward," added Xundu.

She says the government now recognizes that a program to combat HIV/AIDS must also include easing poverty, fostering development and raising the status of women.

It must also include community programs, so people understand better the challenge of the epidemic and where they can obtain the resources to fight it.

And, she says more efforts must be made to change risky¹⁵ behavior, which has not declined despite the fact that most people now know it can kill them.

Venter, of the AIDS Clinicians group, says prevention programs have not succeeded and three million new infections are expected in the next five years.

"Whatever we are doing at the moment is not working and that needs to be acknowledged and acted upon," continued Venter. "And, we need some brave leadership and brave thinking, in terms of what we can do to try and stop new infections."

He says the country needs a nationwide crisis plan as well as new approaches, such as involving lay counselors¹⁶ and community workers to ease the burden on overworked hospitals and clinics.

1 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

2 interred   

v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Marie Curie's remains were exhumed and interred in the Pantheon. 玛丽·居里的遗体被移出葬在先贤祠中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The body was interred at the cemetery. 遗体埋葬在公墓里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

6 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。

7 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

8 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

9 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。

10 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

11 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

12 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

13 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

14 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

15 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

16 counselors   

n.顾问( counselor的名词复数 )；律师；（使馆等的）参赞；（协助学生解决问题的）指导老师

参考例句：

• Counselors began an inquiry into industrial needs. 顾问们开始调查工业方面的需要。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We have experienced counselors available day and night. ) 这里有经验的法律顾问全天候值班。） 来自超越目标英语 第4册