VOA标准英语2010年-NGO Provides Low Cost Eye Care in Nort

A non governmental organization in Nigeria called Sightsavers is working to help restore sight to visually impaired¹ people. The Federal Ministry² of Health recently conducted a survey on visual Impairment. It found that about 1,130,000 people in Nigeria are blind. More than a third of them are in the northwestern states.
SightsaversPatients receiving medication at an eye unit in Sokoto, Nigeria. 60-year-old Sani Umar is a farmer who came to Hajia Gambo Sawaba General Hospital in Zaria in Kaduna state -- one of many centers in northern Nigeria providing low cost eye care to the public.
Umar lives in the Ungwar Sanusi section of Kaduna town. He has had cataracts⁴ in both eyes for many years, but only recently started coming to the clinic. "After the treatment," he says, "I started seeing clearly. And I am happy that my sight has been restored."Umar is not alone.
SightsaversFatsima Muhammad from Tozai in Nigeria, having her sight restored during a simple cataract³ operation. The clinic operates on up to 30 cataract patients per week. They're treated here or in clinics supported by Sightsavers in several states, including Cross River, Kaduna, Kwara, Sokoto and Zamfara.
Sightsavers covers almost all the costs, says Ahmed Danbaba, one of the nurses:
"They provide the drugs, the surgical⁵ instruments, even the operating microscopes ... If not for that, I think the cost of cataract surgery would not be affordable⁶."Sightsavers has been working to prevent, reduce, as well as cure blindness for more than 60 years. It also promotes equal opportunity in the workplace for people with visual disabilities. The NGO works with the ministries⁷ of health and its eye centers, especially in the northwest.
The NGO makes eye treatment available at a fraction of the cost of privately⁸ owned centers. In these clinics, cataract surgery costs about $170, or N25,000, but the same service is provided at eye centers supported by Sightsavers for $13, about N2,000.
SightsaversDr. Achi, a pediatric ophthalmologist examining a child at National Eye Center , Kaduna In the past four years outreach centers in the north have treated over 34,000 patients. It plans to operate on over 12,000 patients this year.
Sightsavers has trained 31 ophthalmologists in five Nigerian states.
Cataracts, which can cause blindness, are caused by a build-up of proteins that cloud the lens – the part of the eye that focuses light and produces clear, sharp images.
Cataracts can be caused by many factors, including ageing, smoking, diabetes⁹ and dehydration¹⁰ caused by heat and cholera¹¹.
Doctors say the local custom of withholding¹² water from women during labor¹³ and immediately after giving birth can also contribute to getting cataracts.
The country director for Sightsavers in Nigeria, Sunday Isiyaku, says simple measures like improving hygiene¹⁴ can help prevent cataracts and other diseases, such as trachoma -- a bacterial¹⁵ infection of the eye. Symptoms include discharge from the eye, blurred¹⁶ vision and swollen¹⁷ eyelids¹⁸. Isiyaku says 80% of blindness is preventable and trachoma can be reduced largely with good hygiene, such as washing one's face, and keeping one's environment clean.
Sightsavers is working to expand its campaign for better eye care.
SightsaversMr Jaiye an ophthalmologic nurse of the Ministry of Health, in Lokoja, Kogi State examining a patient during community eye screeningAlong with other partners, Sightsavers supports the Nigeria National Blindness and Low Vision Survey, which has provided strong evidence of the need for a national eye health plan.
Sightsavers is credited with raising awareness¹⁹ about eye disease prevention and treatment, while providing care and rehabilitation²⁰ to those who suffer from it.
 

1 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

3 cataract   

n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障

参考例句：

• He is an elderly gentleman who had had a cataract operation.他是一位曾经动过白内障手术的老人。
• The way is blocked by the tall cataract.高悬的大瀑布挡住了去路。

4 cataracts   

n.大瀑布( cataract的名词复数 )；白内障

参考例句：

• The rotor cataracts water over the top of the machines. 回转轮将水从机器顶上注入。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Cataracts of rain flooded the streets. 倾盆大雨弄得街道淹水。 来自辞典例句

5 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

6 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

7 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

8 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

9 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

10 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

11 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

12 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

15 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

16 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

18 eyelids   

n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色

参考例句：

• She was so tired, her eyelids were beginning to droop. 她太疲倦了，眼睑开始往下垂。
• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

20 rehabilitation   

n.康复，悔过自新，修复，复兴，复职，复位

参考例句：

• He's booked himself into a rehabilitation clinic.他自己联系了一家康复诊所。
• No one can really make me rehabilitation of injuries.已经没有人可以真正令我的伤康复了。