VOA标准英语2012--AIDS 2012 to Say Thanks to US

 

AIDS 2012 to Say Thanks to US

About 20,000 people from more than 200 countries are expected in Washington for the 19th International AIDS Conference. It’s the first time the world’s largest AIDS-related gathering¹ will be held in the U.S. in more than 20 years.

The U.S. has been the leading force in funding and scientific expertise² in the battle against HIV/AIDS. Conference co-chair, Dr. Elly Katabira of Uganda, says he’ll use the occasion to say, “Thank you.”

“We want the world to know how we appreciate the contribution of the American people. We know that we haven’t been going to the U.S. for the last 22 years, but in spite of that [the] U.S. is still the leading contributor to the struggle against the epidemic³,” he said.

The U.S. hadn’t hosted the conference in so long due to a travel ban on those who were HIV positive. In 1987, the Department of Health and Human Services added HIV/AIDS to its list of communicable diseases. Critics say the ban was based on fear and ignorance. The effort to lift the ban began during the Bush administration and was finalized⁴ under President Obama in 2010.

Dr. Katabira is an associate professor of medicine, president of the International AIDS Society and co-founder of TASO, the leading Ugandan AIDS support organization. He says the theme of AIDS 2012 is Turning the Tide Together.

“We need to take advantage of what we know to turn the tide together against this epidemic and get rid of it,” he said.

He said the world can no longer afford “the impact and economic wastage associated with the epidemic.” Katabira took the job as international chair at a time of global economic downturn and much talk of budget cuts.

“The concern is still there,” she said, “but I think our conference will make a difference to show that we’ve made a lot of investments from the amount of support we had over the years. And still we need more investment to conclude what we have achieved today. And I’m sure this will go a long way to convince donors⁵ to give more, because knowing what they are going to give out will be used properly to achieve more outcomes than expected.”

When addressing the opening of the AIDS conference, Katabira said he’ll warn of two ongoing⁶ problem areas. First, he said, young people are not taking the epidemic as seriously as past generations. He recommended media prevention campaigns targeted specifically at youth. Next, he warned that stigma⁷, discrimination and anti-homosexual laws are preventing treatment and prevention programs from reaching men who have sex with men and transgenders.

The U.S. co-chair of AIDS 2012 is Dr. Diane Havlir. She’s professor of medicine and chief of the HIV/AIDS Division at the University of California at San Francisco. The conference will be held in Washington from July 22nd to the 27th.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

3 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

4 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 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》

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。