2006年VOA标准英语-East African Leaders Discuss Ways to Fight

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
21 March 2006

At a summit in Kenya this week, East African leaders discussed how to deal with a regional drought that has put an estimated 11 million people in danger of starvation. Meanwhile, the United States and the European Union are the latest to pledge emergency aid to Kenya, areas of which are hardest hit by the drought.

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From left, Yoweri Museveni, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Sudanese President, Omar El Bashir at IGAD meeting in Nairobi   
  

For the heads of state, ministers, and other African officials operating under the seven-nation Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, or IGAD, the major topic of discussion was the drought and how to prevent people from starving.

The IGAD region covers Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda. It has a population of about 170 million people, about 80 percent of whom rely directly on agriculture for their livelihoods¹.

More than 40 percent of the region is classified as arid², receiving less than 350 millimeters of annual rainfall, while a further 25 percent is semi-arid, receiving a maximum 700 millimeters of rainfall a year.
 

Pastoralists report increasing number of livestock³ dying due to worsening drought conditions in parts of Somali region of Ethiopia   
  
Because the region is so dry, one or two inadequate⁴ rainy seasons are enough to decrease water supplies, wither⁵ crops, kill livestock, and cause other devastation⁶. That is what is happening in many areas of the region, especially in northern and eastern Kenya.

But drought in itself should not necessarily lead to mass starvation. Speaking at the summit, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni pointed⁷ out the folly⁸ of how food in parts of Uganda and other areas of the region are purposely being destroyed while people in other parts are dying of starvation.

"It is paradoxical that while parts of the region are being ravaged⁹ by drought, in Uganda, for instance, we are pouring [out] 80,000 liters of milk every day for lack of markets and four million metric tons of bananas are rotting every year for the same reason," he said. "This is not logical. Our destiny is definitely in our hands."
 

Yoweri Museveni  
  
President Museveni blamed poor or non-existent markets for the destruction of surplus food, and called for more intra-regional trade so surplus food could be transferred to deficit¹⁰ areas.

In other cases, poor transportation networks prevent food from being easily or quickly delivered to drought areas, while in some instances, farmers would rather sell their surplus food to private agents, who offer higher prices than governments.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki called for IGAD countries to work together to create conditions favorable for economic and social development.

Swedish developmental aid official Annika Sode supported President Kibaki's call, saying that the African leaders were ultimately responsible for the IGAD region's fate.

"The destiny of this region and of Africa rests in the hands of the Africans," she said. "Your message that you want to take the responsibility for good government and good governance, for attracting capital for infrastructure¹¹, to solve conflicts, to build the culture of democracy, to get rid of corruption¹² and to access markets, that message is a very important one."

However, President Museveni also blamed European and other countries for setting up barriers to international trade. He said these barriers and low earnings¹³ for exports from countries in the region have decreased national incomes, making it harder to alleviate¹⁴ poverty.

Some officials pointed to the slowness of IGAD governments in detecting and responding to emergencies brought on by drought.

Louis Michel is the European Commissioner¹⁵ for Development and Humanitarian¹⁶ Aid. He told the summit's opening session that the region is food insecure and should be monitored closely and responded to quickly.

"This requires the development of rapid response mechanisms¹⁷ such as a Disaster or Drought Relief Fund," he said. "This should go hand in hand with more structural¹⁸ support such as the EC-supported Regional Food Security and Risk Management Program. The IGAD and the EU should join efforts to embark¹⁹ on a regional strategy to address desertification in the area."

Michel's suggestion that the European Union and IGAD should collaborate²⁰ on a regional strategy to address desertification was one of several proposals meant to stop drought from leading to starvation and other disasters.

Farmer Desta Mihretu shows off a semi-circle terrace in Tigray region of Ethiopia  
  
Agricultural analysts²¹ say much that can be done in dry areas to achieve food security. Terraces can trap moisture in the soil and prevent erosion, ponds can collect rainwater that can be stored in underground tanks, and irrigation systems can provide water to nourish crops.

In their final statement, the eastern African leaders promised to allocate²² 10 percent of their national budgets to the agricultural sector²³ for such water harvesting projects as well as livestock development and dryland management.

The leaders agreed to set up a regional emergency fund, and called on the private sector and donors²⁴ to contribute to the fund and provide other aid.

At the summit, European Commissioner Michel said the European Union would donate about $6 million to help Kenyans suffering from the drought, while last week the U.S. aid agency said it would provide $16 million in food aid to hungry Kenyans hit by the drought.

1 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。

2 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

3 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。

4 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

5 wither   

vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡

参考例句：

• She grows as a flower does-she will wither without sun.她象鲜花一样成长--没有太阳就会凋谢。
• In autumn the leaves wither and fall off the trees.秋天，树叶枯萎并从树上落下来。

6 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

9 ravaged   

毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫

参考例句：

• a country ravaged by civil war 遭受内战重创的国家
• The whole area was ravaged by forest fires. 森林火灾使整个地区荒废了。

10 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

12 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

13 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

14 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

15 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

16 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

17 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

19 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

20 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

21 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

22 allocate   

vt.分配，分派；把…拨给；把…划归

参考例句：

• You must allocate the money carefully.你们必须谨慎地分配钱。
• They will allocate fund for housing.他们将拨出经费建房。

23 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

24 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》