VOA标准英语2009年-Ethiopia Again Struggles to Treat Malnutri

By Peter Heinlein
Harerge Region, Eastern Ethiopia
15 October 2009

 
A dry field of sorghum¹ in Ethiopia
Hunger is again stalking East Africa. The United Nations says 20 million people will need emergency food aid before the end of this year in six nations - Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan. Poverty and drought are challenging the best efforts of the government and international aid agencies to save the lives of malnutrition³ victims.

Driving through Ethiopia's countryside, it is hard to imagine a food shortage.

But these lush fields mask what experts call a "green" drought, one of the worst in recent memory. Three years of poor rains have dealt a harsh blow to Ethiopia's agricultural economy. Lake beds are drying up.

Changing weather patterns have turned what used to be a recurring⁴ problem into a chronic⁵ one, and a constant headache for Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

"There are always malnourished children somewhere in Ethiopia every year," he said. 

Fitsum Taeme is on the front line of Ethiopia's battle against malnutrition. "They are dying at the community level," said Fitsum.

Fitsum is a 21-year-old nurse at a health center operated by Care International. 23-year-old Meron Assefa works at a nearby center run by the Irish NGO, GOAL.

Every day they and thousands of others like them receive new malnutrition cases, treat the ones they can, and transfer the severely⁶ ill to hospitals.

They are part of an army of new nurses - 6,000 new graduates each year - that are part of Ethiopia's strategy for responding to malnutrition, staffing a rapidly expanding network of community health centers.

 
Ted² Chaiban
Ted Chaiban, Ethiopia country director for UNICEF, says these newly built centers are saving 40,000 lives a year.

"The capacity to do so has increased from less than 200 sites in 2007 to over 3,200 sites right now in hotspot districts," he said. "Over the year, if needed, we could manage between 150,000 to 200,000 children."

But supplies are critically short. The World Food Program estimates it needs an additional 120-thousand metric tons to meet Ethiopia's nutrition needs through the end of the year. The government says 6.2 million people will need food aid in the coming months.

Ethiopia's disaster relief agency chief Tadesse Bekele acknowledges that children are dying of complications of malnutrition, including TB and diarrhea. But he says he and his relief workers will not accept that children will die of simple malnutrition.

"There may be deaths because of health issues, but no one should die because of lack of food. That's our principle," said Bekele.

 
Malnourished children in Ethiopia
With severely malnourished children turning up daily, many with complications, Tadesse Bekele and his disaster relief agency have their hands full.

Nurse Azeb Malke at the town of Karsa says she's referring a steady stream of youngsters with tuberculosis⁷ complications to the nearby regional Bisidimo Hospital.

"Eight-zero children have been transferred to Bisidimo [hospital]. Especially 70 percent pulmonary tuburculosis cases," she said.

Experts predict this third straight year of drought will lead to even more difficult times in 2010, at least until the next harvest is due.

In the meantime, thousands of young Ethiopian nurses are graduating, more health centers are opening, and donors⁸ are slowly opening their pocketbooks to provide desperately⁹ needed food aid.

 

1 sorghum   

n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西

参考例句：

• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
• They made sorghum into pig feed.他们把高粱做成了猪饲料。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 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。

4 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

5 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 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。

8 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。