VOA慢速英语--联合国称也门面临目前世界上最严重的人道主义危机

UN: Yemen Has World’s 'Worst Humanitarian¹ Crisis'

This week marks the fourth anniversary of the Saudi-led campaign to force Houthi rebels from parts of northern Yemen.

The fighting has caused what the United Nations calls "the world's worst humanitarian crisis.”

About 24 million Yemenis -- about 80 percent of the population -- are in need of humanitarian assistance. Millions more have been displaced by the fighting in Yemen.

UN officials say the conflict has led to many civilian² deaths and created food shortages. They also say it is destroying the health and education of an entire generation of Yemeni children. The UN estimates that about 10 children die every day from preventable diseases caused by hunger.

Collapsing³ healthcare

A UN report says Yemen has experienced a sharp jump in the number of suspected cases of the disease cholera⁴.

The UN Office for the Coordination⁵ of Humanitarian Affairs said on Monday that 100,000 suspected cases were found from the beginning of the year until March. It claimed that over 190 people have died from the disease in 2019.

In the capital, Sanaa, Doctor Saddam al-Azizi said more than 50 cholera cases were reported every day last week at al-Sabeen, one of Yemen’s largest hospitals. He told The Associated Press that most of the cases were acute watery⁶ diarrhea. He added that 20 percent were confirmed cholera cases.

Yemen has experienced two outbreaks of cholera and acute watery diarrhea since 2016. There have been over one million suspected cholera cases and some 3,000 deaths reported nationwide since the fighting began. UN agencies began sending cholera vaccines⁷ to limited areas in Yemen since May of 2018.

Cholera is caused by eating unclean food or drinking water. UN agencies have been working to support water safety, cleanliness and health services in Yemen. The aid agencies said that the outbreaks are the result of the country's collapsing health system after four years of conflict.

The rise in cholera cases usually takes place during rainy seasons in Yemen.

It is Yemen’s children that suffer the most. In Sanaa, boys wait at a burial ground every day hoping to get money for helping⁸ to bury the dead.

"If no one has died, we just hang around the graves and play around," said 13-year-old Ahmed al-Hamadi.

Fifteen-year-old Yasser al-Arbahi attends school for about three hours in the morning. He says he spends the rest of the day looking for work.

About 2 million Yemeni children have stopped attending school since 2015, according to the United Nations. UNICEF, the UN’s children’s agency, said many schools are damaged, not in use or have becomes shelters for the displaced.

About 2,500 boys have joined the fighting. More than half of Yemeni girls are married before 15.

Rights group Save the Children estimates that 85,000 Yemeni children under the age of 5 may have died of starvation.

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

diarrhea –n. an illness that causes you to pass waste from your body very frequently and in liquid rather than solid form

acute– adj. requiring short-term medical care; lasting⁹ a short time

outbreak– n. a sudden increase in activity

according– adv. as stated

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

4 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

5 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

6 watery   

adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的

参考例句：

• In his watery eyes there is an expression of distrust.他那含泪的眼睛流露出惊惶失措的神情。
• Her eyes became watery because of the smoke.因为烟熏，她的双眼变得泪汪汪的。

7 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。