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VOA慢速英语2014 Report: Two Billion Suffer from 'Hidden Hunger'

时间:2014-10-20 22:36:25

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AS IT IS 2014-10-19 Report: Two Billion Suffer from 'Hidden Hunger'

The latest Global Hunger Index report estimates two billion people worldwide suffer from “hidden hunger.” People who suffer from hidden hunger have enough to eat, but the quality of their food is low. The report warns that food quality is just as important as quantity.

The index is published yearly by the International Food Policy Research Institute and two other groups. It records levels of hunger in 120 developing countries and in countries that are changing.

It lists the countries by the percentage of the population who do not get enough food, children younger than five years old who weigh less than they should and the death rate of children under five.

The report says ten of the 14 countries with the worst scores are located south of the Saharan Desert in Africa. That is also where the two countries with the worst scores -- Burundi and Eritrea -- are. The report says rates of hunger and death there is, in its words, “extremely alarming.”

The report says more than 60 percent of the people of Burundi and Eritrea are undernourished. And Angola, Chad, and Sierra Leone have the highest rates of children under five dying.

In Swaziland, people suffer from food insecurity and high unemployment because of lack of rain. The report says the percentage of people who are undernourished has doubled in the past ten years and the expected life of people there has fallen by ten years since 1990.

But the news was not all bad. The report said the number of children under age five who die in sub-Saharan Africa has dropped since 2000, probably because of a decrease in malaria1 rates and increasing income.

And several Southeast Asian and South Asian countries had much-higher scores than they had in 1990 -- including Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Bangladesh. Vietnam’s score has dropped more than 75 percent since 1990. The number of underweight children in Vietnam has dropped sharply2, and it has cut in half the number of children under five who die.

Shenggen Fan is IFPRI’s Director-General. He says eating low-quality food can hurt people as much as not getting enough food.

“Hidden hunger is very different from the so-called visible hunger or undernourishment. Hidden hunger really means lack of micronutrients or vitamins in a person’s diet, which can cause long-term, chronic4 damage to their mental and their physical health. And this is particularly severe for children and their mothers.”

This kind of hunger can weaken the system that protects the body, called the immune5 system. Mr. Fan says it can also affect a person’s mind, and can even cause death.

Mr. Fan says the international community did not fight this hidden hunger for many years because it was trying to solve the bigger problem of lack of food.

“For the last several decades our focus has been on producing more food because we do have people suffering from hunger, from lack of food to eat, which is OK. But now, we have enough supply at this moment. The question is how can we provide (a) more balanced diet, good-quality food, to everybody in this world to make sure that they have very healthy, not only in terms of physical health but also mental health in their lives?”

Mr. Fan says hidden hunger is not just a health issue. It’s also an economic issue.

“Every year because of under-nutrition we lose two to three percent of global GDP. By addressing this problem, this challenge, the returns to that investment is huge. For every one dollar invested in addressing under-nutrition we will have more than $30 in return. In some of the poorest countries, the returns is even higher.”

The report says people can be overweight but still suffer from hidden hunger. It says people should eat different types of food and companies should add nutrients3 to some crops.

Hidden hunger keeps people from becoming “productive members of society.” It also keeps countries from developing because it keeps people in what the report called a “cycle of poor nutrition, poor health, lost productivity6, persistent7 poverty, and reduced economic growth.”

The Global Hunger Index reports hidden hunger is happening even as levels of hunger in many developing countries decrease. But the index also says 805,000,000 people still don’t have enough to eat. Mr. Fan says countries should work to end both hunger and malnutrition8. The report says “ending hunger in all its forms is possible. It must now become a reality.”

Words from This Story

quality – n. how good or bad something is

quantity – n. an amount or number of something

chronic – adj. continuing or occurring again and again for a long time

immune system – n. the system that protects the body from diseases and infections

malnutrition – n. the unhealthy condition that results from not eating enough food or not eating enough healthy food; poor nutrition


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1 malaria B2xyb     
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。
2 sharply UiRziL     
adj.锐利地,急速;adv.严厉地,鲜明地
参考例句:
  • The plane dived sharply and rose again.飞机猛然俯冲而后又拉了起来。
  • Demand for personal computers has risen sharply.对个人电脑的需求急剧增长。
3 nutrients 6a1e1ed248a3ac49744c39cc962fb607     
n.(食品或化学品)营养物,营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
  • Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 chronic BO9zl     
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 immune Oy6yP     
adj.免疫的,有免疫力的,不受影响的,免除的
参考例句:
  • I am immune from the disease,for I had it once.我对这病有免疫力,因为我已得过一次了。
  • Be immune from corruption.拒腐蚀,永不沾。
6 productivity IQoxT     
n.生产力,生产率,多产
参考例句:
  • Farmers are introducing in novations which increase the productivity.农民们正引进提高生产力的新方法。
  • The workers try to put up productivity.工人设法提高生产率。
7 persistent BSUzg     
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的
参考例句:
  • Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
  • She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤,使她很难为情。
8 malnutrition kAhxX     
n.营养不良
参考例句:
  • In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
  • It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

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