VOA常速英语2008年-Haiti's Rising Cost of Food Worries Aid Groups

By Brian Wagner
Port-au-Prince
17 April 2008

Foreign aid groups in Haiti say they are hurt by the high cost of food just as much as ordinary citizens whose anger over the rising prices led to violent protests in the Caribbean nation last week. In Port-au-Prince, VOA's Brian Wagner reports pressure on food costs is showing little signs of easing.

Haitians who live on less than two dollars a day rely on food aid and other assistance from abroad. Catholic Relief Services is one of several organizations that seeks to aid working poor, handicapped and other residents.

The group's director in Port-au-Prince, Bill Canny¹, says it relies on funding from the U.S government, which appropriates two billion dollars each year for humanitarian² aid spending, under a program called title two.

He says U.S. funding levels have held steady in recent years, but soaring food costs mean that aid groups can no longer buy as much as they used to. "You would have to increase that allocation by the U.S. government of two billion dollars by 900 million dollars to get back to buying the levels of food we were at a couple of years ago," he said.

Responding to violent protests over rising food prices, Haitian President Rene Preval has promised to work with international aid groups and local suppliers to cut rice prices by 15 percent. For some of the poorest Haitians, who have been unable to make ends meet for some time, this may not be enough.

The plan is also raising concern at the United Nations. Joel Boutroue is deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General. "He [the president] wants to try to share the burden of the price increase. How sustainable is that? The answer is that it is not sustainable," he said.

Boutroue says Haiti also needs to focus on long-term economic programs, such as expanding the farming sector³ and creating other employment opportunities.

Another key reason behind rising prices is the high price of oil imports, which pushes up transportation costs for international and domestic products. Energy experts say there is little sign that oil prices will decline anytime soon.

1 canny   

adj.谨慎的，节俭的

参考例句：

• He was far too canny to risk giving himself away.他非常谨慎，不会冒险暴露自己。
• But I'm trying to be a little canny about it.但是我想对此谨慎一些。

2 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。

3 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。