VOA标准英语2010年-Conflict Fuels High Death Rate, Health

Interviewers conducting surveys in the Central African Republic received thorough training before heading out into the field. During the actual survey, interviewers spent an hour or more with each respondent.

The Central African Republic has been plagued by poverty and violence for decades. A random¹ household survey examines how the situation has affected² residents' physical and mental health.

JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, features several research papers focusing on violence as a public health issue.

One looks at how conflict in the Central African Republic has resulted in increased illness, mental health issues, and death rates. 

 

Survey teams did individual interviews throughout the country to compile first-person information, and they recorded their data on smart phones, to protect privacy by not using paper records.

Almost one-third of the people said their physical health was bad or very bad. Symptoms of depression or anxiety were seen in more than half of those surveyed. And lead author Patrick Vinck says the death toll³ was staggering.

"What we found is that this is one of the countries where the people are dying at the fastest rate that you can imagine," he said.

Patrick Vinck, UC Berkeley
Researchers adapted smart phones to help record responses, the first time such technology was used to conduct surveys in the Central African Republic.

"It's about five deaths per 1,000 people per month. The equivalent of six percent of the population dying every year. And that mortality rate is comparable to or even higher to what we have seen in eastern Congo or in the Darfur."

Vinck heads the Initiative for Vulnerable Populations at the University of California, Berkeley. He says the deaths and illness they found in the Central African Republic are not all directly caused by the conflict.

"There is really a situation of chronic⁴ poverty that underlies⁵ the conflict that in many ways is more terrible," Vinck explained. "And the result is that the people have very, very little hope. There is no reason why the international community can not come together to address this conflict and put sufficient pressure on the different actors so that they finally resolve their differences peacefully."

If conflict and violence in the Central African Republic sounds like a story about power and politics, it is. But speaking via Skype, Vinck says that doesn't mean it isn't also a public health issue.

"The reasons it was important for us to publish in the journal of the American Medical Association is that war is a major public health problem. The consequences on health are enormous. And whereas mortality is a very obvious aspect of it, there are many, many other consequences."

In addition to the academic paper in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, Patrick Vinck has co-authored a 48-page study of the situation in the Central African Republic, published by the Human Rights Center at the University of California.

 

1 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

2 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。

3 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

4 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。

5 underlies   

v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的第三人称单数 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起

参考例句：

• I think a lack of confidence underlies his manner. 我认为他表现出的态度是因为他缺乏信心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Try to figure out what feeling underlies your anger. 努力找出你的愤怒之下潜藏的情感。 来自辞典例句