VOA常速英语2007年-UN Reports Fewer Children Dying From Preventabl

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
10 December 2007

A new report finds that last year the number of children dying before their fifth birthday fell below 10 million for the first time since the United Nations has been keeping records. But, the U.N. Children's Fund, which has just launched its latest Progress For Children Study, reports much more needs to be done to improve the health and well being of children around the world. Data collected from more than 50 countries is used to monitor progress towards international goals and targets, including the Millennium¹ Development Goals. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

In 1960, the report notes about 20 million children under age five were dying every year. That number has fallen to less than half. The U.N. Children's Fund attributes this to significant improvements in several key child survival interventions².

For example, it says all countries surveyed in sub-Saharan Africa made progress in expanding coverage³ of insecticide-treated nets, a fundamental tool in halting malaria⁴. In the 47 countries where 95 percent of measles⁵ deaths occur, it says immunization coverage rose, resulting in fewer deaths.

It says rates of exclusive breastfeeding of infants have significantly improved in 16 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, leading to fewer infant deaths.

But the editor of the report, Catherine Langevin-Falcon, says there have been shortfalls in other areas. "There has been less progress in expanding treatment coverage for major childhood diseases such as pneumonia⁶ and malaria, for example," she says. "Since 1990, the prevalence of under-nutrition has dropped from 32 percent to 27 percent. But, still 143 million children under five suffer from under-nutrition, more than half of them in south Asia. More than 500,000 women still die every year as a result of complications during pregnancy⁷ in childbirth. About half of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa."

The report notes the highest under-five mortality rates are found in countries affected⁸ by conflict or in countries where HIV is widespread.

UNICEF Chief of Health and Nutrition Peter Salama says deaths can be substantially reduced by combining a range of activities, such as distributing Vitamin A during polio or measles immunization campaigns. "If you take the area of insecticide treated nets for the prevention of malaria, what we have noticed is that the best way to deliver those nets is through other programs - for example, immunization campaigns, or anti-natal tests or routine immunization," he explains. "And, that is a really important recognition that we are going to get the most bang for the buck⁹ by actually putting programs together and getting mortality reduction as a consequence."

In addition to child survival, the report says progress also has been made in education, gender¹⁰ equality and child protection. It says the number of primary-school age children who are out of school has fallen by about 20 percent and more girls are going to school than before.

The Report says the harmful practice of female genital mutilation is still unacceptably high, but has declined over the past 15 years, and child marriage is becoming less common.

1 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

2 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

3 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。

4 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。

5 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

6 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

7 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

8 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。

9 buck   

n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃

参考例句：

• The boy bent curiously to the skeleton of the buck.这个男孩好奇地弯下身去看鹿的骸骨。
• The female deer attracts the buck with high-pitched sounds.雌鹿以尖声吸引雄鹿。

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。