VOA标准英语2008年-UN Envoy Calls Attention to Somalia Humanitaria

cThe U.N. Special Humanitarian¹ Envoy² appealed for increased attention to the humanitarian crisis in Somalia, following a trip to the country. As Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, humanitarian agencies are warning of an alarming rise in the need for humanitarian assistance in Somalia.

The U.N. Special Humanitarian Envoy Abdul Aziz Arrukban on Wednesday visited south-central Somalia, one of the areas worst affected³ by the humanitarian crisis, as well as a refugee camp on the Kenyan side of the border with Somalia

"What I saw is really a humanitarian crisis," Arrukban said. "The little food that was available was extremely expensive. In the local markets, one egg costs around 5,000 Somali shillings, it is a five-times increase from the beginning of the year."

His visit came as the Food Security Analysis Unit of Somalia, an organization managed the World Food Program, released new figures on the humanitarian situation in Somalia, which it calls one of the worst in the world.

The organization's chief technical advisor⁴, Cindy Holleman, described the situation.

"The scale and the magnitude and the speed at which the humanitarian crisis right now is deteriorating⁵ is very alarming and very profound," Holleman said. "Just from the beginning of this year, the number of people in humanitarian crisis has increased 77 percent. That is going from 1.8 million people to more than 3.2 million people.

She said malnutrition⁶ rates are increasing across the country, even in the north, which has generally been less affected.

According to the group's assessment⁷, massive inflation has been a major driver of the crisis. Spurred on by excessive printing of new bills, food prices have increased by 700 percent in the past year. The problem is compounded by continued drought in the country.

Most importantly, Somalia, unlike many other countries coping with rising global food prices, also faces rampant⁸ insecurity. The conflict in Somalia has grown more severe in recent months, as a weak transitional government struggles to contain a growing Islamist-led insurgency⁹.

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator¹⁰ for Somalia, Mark Bowden, described the challenges of providing assistance in the country, and called on donor¹¹ government to step up their support.

"The cost of doing work in Somalia is becoming higher and higher because of that. We have to invest, tragically¹², in the security of our staff and also the security of all humanitarian workers in there to be able to deliver more effectively. And this comes at a cost," Bowden said. "And it is that cost which is rarely met by the donor community."

Attacks on and abductions of aid workers have been a growing concern on the ground in Somalia, and delivery of aid by sea has been discouraged by growing piracy¹³ of the Somali coast.

In a rare piece of good news, the U.N. refugee agency announced that its top official in Somalia, Hassan Mohammed Ali, was released Wednesday. He was abducted¹⁴ near Mogadishu more than two months ago.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

5 deteriorating   

恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The weather conditions are deteriorating. 天气变得越来越糟。
• I was well aware of the bad morale and the deteriorating factories. 我很清楚，大家情绪低落，各个工厂越搞越坏。

6 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

7 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

8 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

9 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

10 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？

11 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

12 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

13 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

14 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。