2006年VOA标准英语-UN Launches Campaign to Protect Children from N

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
15 June 2006

Boy with open wound on his forehead waits to be attended to by doctors in Balakot  
  
The United Nations is launching a global campaign to protect children from dying and being injured in natural disasters. The U.N. Disaster Reduction Bureau, UNESCO, and other international and private organizations are teaming up to get countries to build safer schools and teach children what to do when disaster strikes.

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Natural disasters take a tremendous toll¹ in lives lost, in property and livelihoods² destroyed. The United Nations says the world is facing disasters on a record scale.

It says floods, drought, earthquakes and other natural hazards kill 58,000 people on average each year and affect another 225 million. Of these, it says children under 18 are the most vulnerable, especially if they are attending school at the time of the catastrophe³.

The Director of the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Salvano Briceno, says several-hundred-million children attend schools in buildings that are unable to withstand the forces of nature.

"You know that there are some villages in Pakistan where all the children died. All. And, you will see the parents walking around the streets wondering what is their future. There is no future for them," said Briceno. "In some towns, all the children died because they all were at school at the moment of the earthquake."

Briceno says these children and thousands of others probably would be alive today had they been going to school in safe buildings. He says building schools that can withstand natural disasters adds only about 10-percent to the cost. So, he argues, it is not the money that is at issue, it is the political will and commitment of governments to build safer schools.

The U.N. official says another objective of the global campaign is to make disaster risk education part of every school's curriculum.

"Where are the flooding plains? If it is a drought-stricken area, where does drought strike most strongly. Where are the hills where if there is a strong rain a mudslide can happen, because the mudslides and landslides⁴ depend not only on the rains, but on the soil and the geology of the terrain⁵ ... Knowing where to plant trees to avoid the risk of fires is essential and it is very simple. It is just a matter of knowing where the winds flow," added Bricano. "So, these are basic things that children can and should learn from childhood."

The United Nations reports Asia and Africa bear a disproportionate burden of losses due to the impact of disasters. It says approximately 88-percent of all people reported killed and 96 percent of those affected⁶ by disasters occur in these two regions.

The World Bank calculates last year, losses from natural disasters amounted to $220 billion. It says losses in developing countries were 20 times higher than in developed countries. It says investing in disaster risk reduction not only saves lives, but yields huge economic and development benefits

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

3 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

4 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

5 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。