2006年VOA标准英语-Africa's Healthcare Worker Shortage Reaches Sev

By Catherine Maddux
Washington
29 May 2006

 
Malnourished boy sits at a Medecins sans Frontieres' hospital in El Wak village in drought stricken north eastern Kenya, March 4, 2006 
  
Every year, untold¹ numbers of African doctors and nurses leave the continent, seeking better employment opportunities in wealthier nations. The exodus² is taking a heavy toll³ on Africa's over-stretched and under-funded health sector⁴. Now, an alliance of international organizations is calling for the world to focus attention on halting what is commonly known as "medical brain drain" in Africa.

---------------------------------------

The World Health Organization says 36 countries in sub-Saharan Africa are suffering a severe shortage of healthcare workers.

U.N. Special AIDS Envoy⁵ for Africa Stephen Lewis says the idea behind the new alliance is to target countries where the situation is especially desperate.

"The effort is to plow⁶ enough resources into those countries, so that salaries can be increased, benefits can be improved, working conditions can be improved, housing can be provided and training can be done, so that we can finally overcome this tremendous gap in human capacity," said Lewis. "It is an effort to deal with the interlocked realities of poverty and disease, which so compromise the future of Africa."

Malawi has one of the most serious shortages of trained health workers in the world, with an estimated one doctor per 60,000 people and one nurse per 28,000.

Malawi Minister of Health Hetherwick Ntaba says, it is rare for Malawians who study medicine outside the country to return to practice at home.

"Human beings, being what they are, they know what they are coming back to: they are going to get a salary, which is 10 times less, [than] if they worked in the United States or the United Kingdom," he summarized.

Given that grim reality, Minister Ntaba says, his government has put in place policies to lessen⁷ the burden of patient load on the few doctors and nurses in Malawi.

"One of the things we have had to do is to train more doctors and nurses,' he said. "So, we have tripled the output of our doctors, for instance, and we are doubling or increasing even more the output of our student nurses from our nursing institutions. We are also improving the conditions of services, trying to make sure they have the medical supplies, the drugs. These are some of the things we are doing to try to minimize the hemorrhage of our health workers."

Other African nations are also trying to address the serious crisis. Policy analyst⁸ Eric Friedman, of Physicians for Human Rights, a member of the new WHO, sponsored alliance, says, in many cases, some basic medical training can go a long way toward boosting access to health services.

"In Ghana, for example, there is a program where Ghana has been training healthcare workers for about 18 months, so not very long, but long enough to learn the basic needs of the communities," noted⁹ Friedman. "And that has made just an enormous difference. In one district, over a period of three years, child immunizations tripled. The rate of people receiving tuberculosis¹⁰ treatment who defaulted, who, in other words, did not complete their treatment, went from 73 percent to zero percent."

It is well understood that money is key to ending Africa's medical brain drain. But UNAIDS envoy Lewis says the most important element is international commitment. He noted the pledge last year by leaders of the G-8 countries to do more for Africa, but he said they must follow through.

"The absence of political will among the leading politicians in the western world lies at the heart of the dilemma," he said. "So, unless pressure is put on the really wealthy G-8 governments to honor their commitments, Africa will always be struggling."

Lewis says failure to meet those commitments means millions of Africans will not receive even the most basic care for the most serious healthcare crises, like AIDS, malaria¹¹ and tuberculosis, diseases that are killing¹² ordinary citizens, as well as future healthcare professionals.

The new alliance is sponsored by the World Health Organization, and includes UNAIDS, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank.

1 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

2 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。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 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。

5 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

6 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

7 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

9 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。

10 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。

11 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。