2007年VOA标准英语-International AIDS Meeting Opens in Rwanda

By Cathy Majtenyi
Kigali
16 June 2007

An international AIDS conference started in Rwanda's capital Saturday, with officials vowing¹ to work together to stop the spread of the scourge². Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Kigali.

A baby sleeps in her mother's arms next to the anti-AIDS drug nevirapine

Speakers opening the HIV/AIDS Implementers' Meeting lauded³ what they said were great strides being made worldwide in the treatment and prevention of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Michel Sidibe, the deputy director of programs at UNAIDS, as the joint⁴ U.N. project on AIDS is called, told the gathering⁵ that more and more people in developing countries are getting access to AIDS drugs, and that in some cases infection rates are going down.

"Well over 2 million people in the middle and low income countries are now on treatment. In several populations in East Africa, the Caribbean and Asia, HIV infection levels are falling - finally," said Sidibe.

Rwandan President Paul Kagame said that in 2001 his country had 15 voluntary counseling and testing centers.  Now there are 256 centers, which have tested 2 million Rwandans.

He said that there are also 138 centers where people can get access to antiretroviral drug treatment, up from just four centers in 2001. Some 40,000 Rwandans are currently receiving antiretroviral treatment.  President Kagame shared the credit for these advances.

"These results illustrate⁶ what can be achieved by well-coordinated partnerships⁸," he said.

The conference is being sponsored by the World Bank, three U.N. agencies, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis⁹ and Malaria¹⁰, and the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Following the conference theme, "Scaling Up Through Partnerships," more than 1,000 participants from around the globe are looking to find ways governments, business, the health care sector¹¹ and others can collaborate¹².

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator¹³ Mark Dybul told the gathering that those involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS within specific countries and internationally are forming what he calls new partnerships in dealing¹⁴ with the AIDS crisis.

"We are rejecting the old and flawed donor-recipient approach and replacing it with partnership⁷," he said.  "Partnership is rooted in hope for, and faith in, people. Partnership means honest relationships between peoples based in mutual¹⁵ respect, understanding, and trust, with obligations and responsibilities for each partner."

He said these new relationships in part have resulted in enabling 2 million people in developing countries to receive antiretroviral drugs, which represents a 20-fold increase in 4 years.

The United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is a five-year, $15 billion initiative to help countries treat and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

1 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

2 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

3 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

7 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

8 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

9 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。

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

14 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

15 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。