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VOA慢速英语2013 中毒是数以千计的尼日利亚儿童面临的最主要的威胁

时间:2013-08-25 09:19:25

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As It Is - Thousands of Children in Nigeria Still Suffering from Lead Poisoning 中毒是数以千计的尼日利亚儿童面临的最主要的威胁

From VOA Learning English, this is As It Is.

Hi! Welcome back to the show. I’m Caty Weaver1.

Nigeria is struggling to deal with its largest number of lead poisoning cases since 2010. Activists3 say the country needs more trained medical workers to treat the sickness. We talk about that today. Then, we go to Uganda and Zambia where HIV patients and health workers are struggling with shortages of anti-retroviral drugs.

More Training Needed in Nigeria to Deal with Lead Poisoning

Thousands of children in northern Nigeria are being treated for lead poisoning. Activists fear the area could see more poisonings if no action is taken. They say doctors and others must be trained to deal with it, and communities must be shown how to protect children from lead. Christopher Cruise reports.

Gold and lead come out of the ground together in the Nigerian state of Zamfara. The mine workers remove the minerals with their hands and small tools. Mining brings in more money than their old occupation as farmers. The miners are still poor but now they can feed their families.

However, the work produces lead dust. It sticks to the miners and they bring it home to children.

Lead poisoning is most dangerous for children under five. It can cause seizures4, learning and behavioral disorders5 and hearing loss. It can also damage the kidneys, and even kill.

Hundreds of children in northern Nigeria have died in recent years from lead poisoning. Thousands more are being treated.

Hazmat Lawal operates an anti-corruption group called “Follow the Money.” Mr. Lawal says villages have been cleaned up, but many boys and girls in Zamfara remain in danger. He says the government has promised more than one million dollars to train local health workers about lead poisoning. But he says it has yet to release the money so nothing is happening.

“During our last meeting with officials from the Ministry6 of Health they gave us the shocking information that the 200 million that was allocated7 to their agency has not been released by the Ministry of Finance. To us that is a big shock and surprise.”

Mr. Lawal says Doctors Without Borders is the only organization now treating lead poisoning. He says training local doctors is urgent because the group is likely to leave Zamfara two years from now.

He also says miners need to be trained in simple safety measures. And they need basic support, like water availability and improved wet grinding machines. This, he says, will help protect children.

“They need access to water. Because after they finish mining they need to take their baths and rehydrate and put on some fresh clothes before they go back home. And they need machines.”

But, Hamzat Lawal says all the equipment in the world will not protect the children if miners are not taught how and why to use it.

More HIV Treatments Needed in Uganda and Zambia

In June, the World Health Organization advised nations to give anti-retroviral medicines, or ARVs, to everyone who tests positive for HIV -- the virus that causes AIDS. The WHO said this would reduce the risk of the disease spreading. 

But health workers at medical centers outside the Ugandan capital, Kampala, have been struggling to provide the life-saving ARVs. They have been protesting shortages of the drugs. They say ARVs and HIV testing materials are in especially low supply.

John Barasa heads an HIV clinic in the eastern town of Busia. He says the government has not been providing the drugs he asks for.

Mr. Barasa says his clinic asked for 100 containers of ARVs in June. But they only got just six. As a result, he has been able to give patients only one or two weeks’ worth of drugs at a time.

Many patients travel for hours to get to the clinic. Mr. Barasa says some patients have been running out of medicine.

Elvis Basudde leads the Positive Men’s Union. He says many people have complained to him about the lack of ARVs. He says the treatment plan must be followed exactly or drug resistance could develop. A drug shortage makes it difficult for patients to follow a treatment plan.

"With us, there must be strict adherence8 to treatment. So whenever we have such problems and issues, and somebody cannot be able to access medicine in good time, you can imagine the consequences. It could lead into drug resistance."

But health activist2 Margaret Happy says there is no shortage of the drugs in Uganda. She is with the National Forum9 of People Living with HIV.

“At facility level, it is very severe. However, at national level the situation seems to be very different.”

The Ugandan Ministry of Health says the country has enough ARVs to last until December. Ministry official Rukia Nakamette says there is a shortage in some areas because clinic workers do not know how to use the government’s new online ordering system.

Ms. Happy disagrees.

“National level transfers blame the local level. Yet the local level they have evidence that clearly shows that they make the right quantification, and make it timely. The problem is with delivery.”

In Zambia, where more than 500,000 people are infected with HIV. The government there has severely10 limited the number of ARVs it releases to clinics. Officials are not calling it a “shortage” of the drugs but a “rationing.”

Chikuta Mbewe is the deputy director of the country’s pharmaceutical11 services. He says part of the problem is that the government is now giving a drug to HIV patients that is different from the one they have been getting. He says this has caused lowered supplies of both. But he says the situation will improve.

“There a lot of planned shipments that have already started arriving in the country. We think we are in the normalization12 curve, so to say. We hope we can get back to our normal levels.”

Activists say the shortages could have been avoided with better planning by the government.

Zambia hopes to give the same drug to 95 percent of people with HIV. This would simplify the supply process. Zambia is also seeking investors13 so it can build a factory that will make ARVs and other needed drugs.

And that’s As It Is for today.

I'm Caty Weaver. To download pdfs and audio files of Learning English programs go to our website www.voanews.cn. You can also try out your English skills with our English lessons. And to leave us a comment go to the "Contact Us" link on the page. We'd love to hear from you.

And remember to listen at the beginning of every hour Universal Time for the latest world news from the Voice of America.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
2 activist gyAzO     
n.活动分子,积极分子
参考例句:
  • He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
  • He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
3 activists 90fd83cc3f53a40df93866d9c91bcca4     
n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
  • Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 seizures d68658a6ccfd246a0e750fdc12689d94     
n.起获( seizure的名词复数 );没收;充公;起获的赃物
参考例句:
  • Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因,有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句
5 disorders 6e49dcafe3638183c823d3aa5b12b010     
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调
参考例句:
  • Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告,厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 ministry kD5x2     
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。
7 allocated 01868918c8cec5bc8773e98ae11a0f54     
adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
  • More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。
8 adherence KyjzT     
n.信奉,依附,坚持,固着
参考例句:
  • He was well known for his adherence to the rules.他因遵循这些规定而出名。
  • The teacher demanded adherence to the rules.老师要求学生们遵守纪律。
9 forum cilx0     
n.论坛,讨论会
参考例句:
  • They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
  • The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。
10 severely SiCzmk     
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地
参考例句:
  • He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
  • He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。
11 pharmaceutical f30zR     
adj.药学的,药物的;药用的,药剂师的
参考例句:
  • She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
  • We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。
12 normalization qnCzVH     
n.(normalisation)正常化,标准化
参考例句:
  • The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
  • He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。
13 investors dffc64354445b947454450e472276b99     
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
  • a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

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