VOA慢速英语2012 Health Report - Groups Warn of Health Needs in Burma

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

In the past year, Burma has opened its political system and reached cease-fire agreements with some ethnic¹ militias². The government has also eased media restrictions³. But many aid groups say their jobs have not gotten any easier.

在过去的一年，缅甸开放了政治体制并同少数民族武装达成了停火协议。政府还放宽了媒体限制。但许多援助组织表示，他们的工作难度并没有任何降低。

Health workers are warning about the spread of a form of drug-resistant⁴ malaria⁵. The malaria is resistant to treatment with artemisinin. It was first seen several years ago in Cambodia.

卫生工作者对一种抗药性疟疾的传播发出了警告。这种疟疾对青蒿素治疗具有抵抗性。几年前这种疟疾第一次出现在了柬埔寨。

Frank Smithuis started a group called Medical Action Myanmar. He says even with the recent political openings, aid organizations still find it difficult to gain access to areas most in need of aid. This is true, he says, especially in areas torn by many years of conflict along Burma's eastern border.

Frank Smithuis创办了一个名为“缅甸医疗行动”的组织。他表示，即使是在最近政治开放的情况下，援助组织仍然他们发现很难进入一些最需要援助的地区。这是事实，特别是缅甸东部边界被多年冲突蹂躏的地区。

FRANK SMITHUIS: "There are now very good opportunities because of the cease-fire agreements with the Karen and the Mon. Larger areas should now be open for access to a joint⁶ activity to stop this artemisinin resistance spread. However that has not happened yet and we definitely need to have more openness and more activity and more international donor⁷ money. And that’s very, very important."

FRANK SMITHUIS：“因为缅甸政府同克伦族、孟族的停火协议，现在有了很好的机会。缅甸更多地区现在应当开放让（援助组织的）联合行动进入，以制止这种抗青蒿素疟疾的传播。然而这一切还未能实现，我们绝对需要更多开放，更多行动和更多的国际援助资金。这是非常重要的。”

In the past, many nongovernmental organizations simply worked without official approval. Lower-level government officials largely ignored organizations that did not follow the rules.

在过去，许多非政府组织根本没有得到缅甸政府的正式批准。基层政府官员很大程度上忽视了这些未遵守规则的组织。

Until two thousand nine, just three international nongovernmental aid organizations had the required approvals to operate inside Burma. Yet more than one hundred were operating there. Many were able to get a memorandum⁸ of understanding that allowed them to work without an official registration⁹.

直到2009年都只有3个国际性非政府援助组织获得了在缅甸运营所需的批准，然而有100多个组织在这里运营。许多组织只能获得一份允许他们不进行正式登记开展工作的谅解备忘录。

But then came the recent political changes. Heads of aid organizations say lower-level officials are now unclear about their powers and responsibilities. In many cases they are enforcing the requirements more closely.

但随后发生了最近的政治变革。援助组织负责人表示，基层官员目前不清楚他们的权力和责任。在很多情况下他们对政策要求执行得更为严密。

Save the Children is an aid organization whose work is mostly related to mother and child health in Burma. Kelland Stevenson with Save the Children says, in general, ministries¹⁰ and government workers have become much more cooperative. He agrees with those who say the barriers that humanitarian¹¹ workers now face are largely bureaucratic¹².

救助儿童会（Save the Children）是一家援助组织，其工作主要是关于缅甸母亲及儿童的健康。救助儿童会的凯兰·史蒂文森（Kelland Stevenson）表示，一般情况下，部委和政府工作人员已经变得更为合作。他同意一些人说的，人道主义工作者目前面临的壁垒主要是官僚主义。

KELLAND STEVENSON: "It shouldn’t be a political discussion. There remains¹³ a bit of command and control from government, and it's not going to open up overnight. And the discussion about getting access to new areas is under way. You have to remember these changes have been extraordinarily¹⁴ dramatic in such a short time. I mean, we're talking a year."

史蒂文森：“这不应当是一种政治讨论，当前还残留着一些来自政府的命令和控制，这些不会一夜之间放开。有关进入新地区的讨论正在进行，你一定要记住，这么短时间内出现的这些变革已经非常显著。我的意思是才一年时间。”

Kelland Stevenson says "things are changing so quickly." Still, aid groups warn that some issues -- such as the drug-resistant malaria -- may only get worse unless the government also takes action quickly.

史蒂文森表示，变革是如此之快。然而，援助组织警告称，除非政府也快速采取行动，否则一些诸如抗药性疟疾的问题只会变得更糟。

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. For more health news for people learning English, go to www.voanews.cn. I'm Jim Tedder¹⁵.

___

Contributing: Danielle Bernstein

分享到：