VOA标准英语10月-UN Launches Campaign with Diaper Maker to Elimina

The UN Children's Fund, in partnership¹ with diaper-maker² Pampers³, is launching a global campaign to eliminate tetanus by 2012. UNICEF reports the disease kills about 140,000 newborn infants and 30,000 mothers every year in the poorest countries in the world. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA in Geneva.

It is the poor that die. Tetanus has been virtually eliminated in the wealthy industrialized world as a killer⁴ of babies and their mothers. But, the disease hangs on in 50 of the poorest countries in the world.

The majority of mothers and newborns dying of tetanus live in Africa and Southern and East Asia. They live in areas where women are poor and have little access to health care.

Philip O'Brien, UNICEF Director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships⁵ in Geneva, says tetanus need not be a death sentence. He says a cheap, safe, effective vaccine⁶ is available, which can prevent this deadly disease. "Now we have seen progress over the last 10-15 years. Numbers of deaths have come down. But, there is still a long, long way to go. I think it is one of the things that we know how to do. We have the resources to do it. We need the political commitment to make sure that every mother is vaccinated⁷ and therefore her unborn child is protected. But, we cannot do this alone," he said.

O'Brien says great public health advances, such as the eradication⁸ of smallpox⁹ and the drive to get rid of polio, have needed extraordinary partnerships between the public and private sectors¹⁰ and government involvement.

And, that's where Pampers comes in. This maker of baby diapers already has provided more than 50 million vaccines¹¹ to UNICEF.

Vice¹² President of Procter & Gamble Baby Care in Western Europe, Austin Lally, says his company aims to raise an additional 200 million vaccines over the next three years. One way of doing this, he says is through a campaign, which has just begun in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the benefit of this tetanus initiative. "Every pack of Pampers that is bought between the first of October and the end of the year will actually contribute directly to raising one vaccine which UNICEF will distribute to help move towards this goal of eliminating tetanus," he said.
　

Salma Hayek

And for this purpose, Pampers has chosen Hollywood actress, Salma Hayek, as spokeswoman for the global Pampers/UNICEF campaign. Hayek, who has just returned from a visit to Sierra Leone, says it was heartbreaking to meet young mothers who had lost their babies to tetanus.

But, she says out of tragedy can come hope. She recalls an encounter with a woman who also had lost a child to this disease. "She did not understand what had killed her first born child until UNICEF came and educated people about the disease and started providing the vaccines. It is because of this that I was able to sit in her house with her and her four healthy children that came after that first tragedy," she said.

Tetanus is caused by a bacteria, which enters the body through open wounds. Babies are most at risk in poor countries where women give birth at home, often in unsanitary conditions.

A woman, who receives a course of three vaccines, at a cost of less than two dollars, can pass on immunity¹³ to her unborn child and save his or her life.

1 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 pampers   

v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The biggest is Pampers nappies, which collected more than $7 billion last year. 最大的是帮宝适(Pampers)纸尿裤，去年收获超过70亿美元。 来自互联网
• She pampers her own spoiled children and brings Jane up as little better than a servant. 她对她那些被宠坏了的孩子娇生惯养，但对简则有如对待佣仆。 来自辞典例句

4 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

5 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

6 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

7 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

8 eradication   

n.根除

参考例句：

• The eradication of an established infestation is not easy. 根除昆虫蔓延是不容易的。
• This is often required for intelligent control and eradication. 这经常需要灵巧的控制与消除。

9 smallpox   

n.天花

参考例句：

• In 1742 he suffered a fatal attack of smallpox.1742年，他染上了致命的天花。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child?你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

10 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 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。

12 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

13 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。