VOA标准英语2011-South Sudan Hopes Needs Will Be Met by Ne

Southern Sudanese are eagerly awaiting the official results from a referendum earlier this month that is expected to bring independence to the region after five decades of struggle. The autonomous¹ regional government that is part of a six-year-old peace agreement with the north has begun reconstruction², but south Sudan's needs are immense. One of the neediest sectors³ is health care.

The maternity⁴ ward⁵ at Juba's main hospital may be under equipped, but it is as clean as its over-worked staff can keep it.

This is the best-equipped hospital in southern Sudan. It has only six doctors and one formally trained mid-wife. It treats patients from all over the region because local clinics have even less to offer.

Nurse Margaret Wodogo has worked here for nearly 30 years. She says the biggest problem is the lack of medicine and equipment.

"For my ward, really we need mattresses," said Wodogo. "We need bed sheets. We need beds. We need tables like cupboards for the patients. We need also instruments like forceps. We need a lot really."

Many mothers-to-be arrive suffering from malaria⁶, diarrhea and respiratory diseases. These are preventable, but are rampant⁷ in the region because of a lack of sanitation⁸ and health-care facilities.

Meningitis, measles⁹, yellow fever and whooping¹⁰ cough are also endemic in some areas as well as river blindness, sleeping sickness, cholera¹¹ and polio.

Dr. Lul Riek is the head of community health at the Health Ministry¹². He says southern Sudan's health statistics rank among the lowest in the world.

More than two percent of mothers die in childbirth and one out of every seven children dies before the age of five. He says only 16 percent of the 8 million population have access to health care.

"Southern Sudan has been in war for so many years," explained Riek. "So the little health system that we had here has been destroyed and especially before we came in 2005 there was nothing on the ground."

In 55 years of independence only 1,000 doctors were trained in the region.

Most left or entered other professions. As a result, today there are only 300 doctors and 20 trained mid-wives.

Riek says health care is linked with many other sectors of society. Therefore southern Sudan's needs must be addressed comprehensively.

"For us to be able to make that progress, we need to do well in our water," added Riek. "We need to do well in our security. We need to do well in our roads. We need to do well in our personal hygiene¹³. We need to well in our social services and human protections to be able to realize health in the way the WHO defines it. That is not only the absence of disease, but it is a complete physical, mental and social well-being¹⁴."

The situation has improved since a peace agreement six years ago brought autonomous local government to the region.

The local authorities, working with international donors¹⁵, have begun re-building hospitals and clinics. But a major challenge is training the professionals to staff them.

Riek says one of the main reasons for the war was neglect by the government in Khartoum.

"We did not go to war because we are war lovers," added Riek. "We went to war because we need clean water. We need good health. We need education. We need good roads. Those were not there. So hopefully now we have the government that we call our government, and we hope we will be able to provide those needs to the people of southern Sudan."

Most importantly, he says, southern Sudan needs peace, so that its resources can be devoted¹⁶ to improving the lives of its people rather than buying weapons of destruction.

1 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

2 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

3 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

5 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

6 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

7 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。

8 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

9 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

10 whooping   

发嗬嗬声的，发咳声的

参考例句：

• Whooping cough is very prevalent just now. 百日咳正在广泛流行。
• Have you had your child vaccinated against whooping cough? 你给你的孩子打过百日咳疫苗了吗？

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 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。

13 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。

14 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

15 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》

16 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。