VOA标准英语2011--UN Called on to Fulfill Family Planning

UN Called on to Fulfill Family Planning Promises

It’s estimated that every year nearly 360,000 women die from pregnancy-related causes. Most of the deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa. As the United Nations General Assembly opens a new session, it’s being called on to provide more family planning services to hundreds of millions of women. VOA’s Joe De Capua reports.
In 1994, the international community agreed that family planning should be an integral part of reproductive health. The International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo issued a program of action that called for “the provision of universal access to reproductive health services, including family planning and sexual health.”
But 17 years after the conference, advocates say promises remain unfulfilled.
Action needed now
The Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health says family planning services are needed now more than ever as the world population soars. It’s expected to reach 9 billion by 2050. The council is made up of current and former senior leaders from more than a dozen countries, as well as other health advocates.
“Reproductive health is not just important to women. It’s important to humanity, as we all know. I mean it’s the basis of our survival and the propagation of the human race,” said Joy Phumaphi, former minister of health in Botswana and a member of the council.
“It is absolutely critical that at any point in time a family only has the number of children that it can afford to take care of and bring up into well-rounded citizens. And it is also critical that a family is able to space these children and have them at intervals¹ that enable them to bring up each child effectively,” she said.
Out of sight, out of mind?
“It seems to have dropped off the radar² in recent years. When HIV became uppermost and funding had to be got for HIV, It looks as if family planning lost priority,” said Dr. Fred Sai of Ghana, a former professor of medicine and past president of the International Planned Parenthood Foundation. He, too, is a member of the Global Leaders Council of Reproductive Health.
Sai said in Ghana early marriage is a common practice -- one that can put the health of young girls at risk.
“A girl gets married at about 14. I don’t say she should be. It would be best if we can give them education so they don’t get married at 14. But if they do, if they have no preventive, they start getting pregnant. This leads to a whole lot of health problems,” he said.
Without readily available family planning, Sai said a country’s social and health services can be overwhelmed.
“We want free education for our children. We want free health services for our children and people. And the more we try to build the competencies to deal with education, competencies to deal with health, facilities to deal with health, the more we have new entrants,” he said.
Former Botswana health minister Phumaphi agreed.
“We have countries in sub-Saharan Africa where over 50 percent of the population is either young people or children. We have this youth bulge³. We have a child bulge, which we cannot keep pace with,” she said.
Cairo conference
At the 1994 Cairo conference, recommendations included family planning counseling, pre- and post-natal care and education on human sexuality and reproductive health.
Opposition⁴ came from the Vatican, Muslim nations and conservatives in the United States. One concern was that the recommendations would promote abortion⁵ as a fundamental right and would encourage it as a method of family planning.
Dr. Sai said a woman’s health should not be a matter of religion or politics.
“People should be left without knowledge so that they die in ignorance when the health things are there to save them, when they can prevent it. I find that argument very difficult because some say that when you teach youngsters how to look after their bodies, then you are tending to teach them how to be promiscuous⁶. I think it’s only in this field that you teach somebody something and then they do the wrong thing only. We teach things so they know what the choices are,” he said.
Sai said he wants African families to have the same family planning choices as Americans. Phumaphi says it’s time to invest in family planning.
“We have to make it a priority in the same way that we made HIV/AIDS a priority, that we made malaria⁷ a priority. We have to make it a priority,” he said.
The Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health is chaired by former Irish president Mary Robinson. It’s calling for a doubling of investment in reproductive health in poor countries to $6.7 billion.
Critics have said lowering fertility rates will not necessarily bring economic benefits and that family planning programs are not always effective. Other criticisms include concerns that such programs may coerce⁸ women to take part rather than volunteer. And that the programs may be culturally insensitive or violate religious beliefs.

1 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

2 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

3 bulge   

n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀

参考例句：

• The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
• What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么？

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

6 promiscuous   

adj.杂乱的，随便的

参考例句：

• They were taking a promiscuous stroll when it began to rain.他们正在那漫无目的地散步，突然下起雨来。
• Alec know that she was promiscuous and superficial.亚历克知道她是乱七八糟和浅薄的。

7 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。

8 coerce   

v.强迫，压制

参考例句：

• You can't coerce her into obedience.你不能强制她服从。
• Do you think there is any way that we can coerce them otherwise?你认为我们有什么办法强迫他们不那样吗？