VOA标准英语2009年-Children in Somalia Facing Acute Malnutrition C

The United Nations reports hundreds of thousands of children in Somalia are facing an acute malnutrition¹ crisis. It warns many of them will die if they do not receive international assistance immediately.
　
Internally displaced Somali's queue for food distributed by World Food Programme in Abdi Aziz district, north Mogadishu, 21 Dec 2008

The United Nations says a combination of drought, economic collapse³ and the ongoing⁴ conflict has made Somalia the world's worst humanitarian⁵ crisis. It says almost half of Somalia's population of 7.5 million is in need of regular food aid.

It says these problems are compounded by Somalia's massive displacement⁶ - the world's highest. It reports more than one million people have been made homeless because of drought and war. And many of these people are forced to move two or three times a year.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator⁷ for Somalia, Mark Bowden, says Gedo and Central regions are facing a severe malnutrition crisis, exacerbated⁸ by lack of funding and a shortage of water.

He says the rate of acute malnutrition is above 20 percent. He says more than 200,000 children are acutely malnourished. He says some 60,000 of them suffer from severe malnutrition and are in need of immediate² treatment in order to survive.

"Children will die and children are dying through malnutrition and diarrheal diseases," he said. "There are 200,000 children that are at risk at the moment now. If we are effective, the mortality rates will be managed. I think the fact that there is a global acute malnutrition rate, over 20%, is an indication that the risks of dying without intervention⁹ are extremely high."

The United Nations appeal for $113 million for assistance to Somalia this year has met with a very poor response. Bowden says only 19 percent of the money has been received.

He says most of that money has been earmarked for food aid to the detriment¹⁰ of other critical areas. He says the United Nations has received no funding for water and sanitation¹¹, health, security and education.

He says education is a particularly hard sell. He says governments do not understand how critically important education is for children, especially if they live in a violent society such as Somalia.

"Young children frequently find the use of an AK-47 and then are paid five or ten dollars by the insurgents¹² more attractive than any other opportunities at the moment. Children have been caught up in the conflict. Education, I think, is an immediate requirement in providing them with the security and stability that they need and an alternative to violence, which has become endemic," he said.
　
African Union peacekeeper (l) stands guard for Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed (r) in Mogadishu, 09 Feb 2009

Bowden says he thinks the recent political developments in Somalia are positive. He says he believes Somalia has a better chance of progress since the appointment of the new President and the withdrawal¹³ of Ethiopian troops.

He urges international donors¹⁴ to take a chance on Somalia. He says despite news to the contrary, assistance is getting through to the people who need it and governments should support these needs.

1 malnutrition   

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。

2 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

5 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。

6 displacement   

n.移置，取代，位移，排水量

参考例句：

• They said that time is the feeling of spatial displacement.他们说时间是空间位移的感觉。
• The displacement of all my energy into caring for the baby.我所有精力都放在了照顾宝宝上。

7 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

8 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

10 detriment   

n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源

参考例句：

• Smoking is a detriment to one's health.吸烟危害健康。
• His lack of education is a serious detriment to his career.他的未受教育对他的事业是一种严重的妨碍。

11 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

12 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

13 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

14 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》