VOA标准英语2009年-Fewer Children Dying in Poor Countries

The World Health Organization says there has been a sharp drop in the number of deaths among children under age five. The just released report, World Health Statistics 2009, shows 27 percent fewer children died in 2007, the last year for which statistics were compiled, than in 1990.
　
Malnourished children at an orphanage¹ in Chongjin City (North Hamgyong Province), 20 Jun 2008

The World Health Statistics Report shows about nine million children died in 2007 compared to 12.5 million in 1990. It says some countries are making good progress toward meeting the U.N. Millennium² Development Goal of cutting child deaths by two-thirds by 2015. But it says many other countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, will fail to reach that target.

This year's report focuses on how well countries are doing in reaching eight-stated Millennium Development Goals, including cutting poverty by half and reducing child and maternal³ mortality. The results are mixed.

For example, the report says progress is being made in bringing down child deaths, but there has been little or no movement in maternal and newborn health.

It says an estimated 37 percent of deaths among children occur in the first month of life, and most in the first week of life. It says most infant deaths happen in regions where maternal mortality rates are the highest.

Coordinator⁴ in WHO's department of Health Statistics and Informatics, Carla Abou-Zahr, says there are a whole range of issues that hold countries back.

"You cannot say it is just lack of resources or it is just lack of commitment," said Abou-Zahr. "Usually there are very weak institutions in many of these countries. Many of them are emerging from conflicts. And, sub-Saharan Africa in particular, especially in Eastern and Southern Africa are facing major problems of HIV, which has had a huge impact on especially child mortality, life expectancy⁵ in general. So, that is being a factor that is constraining⁶ for the progress for those countries."

But Abou-Zahr hastens to add that countries in Africa do not present a uniformly bleak⁷ picture. For instance, she says signs of improvement can be seen in places such as Tanzania and Rwanda.

The report argues building a health system that is efficient and really works is not purely⁸ a financial matter. Many elements are involved.

But WHO Health Statistics and Informatics Department Director Ties Boerma says money talks when it comes to providing good health.

"If we look at per-capita health expenditure⁹, in the low income countries, it is $22 per capita," said Boerma. "In the high-income countries, it is $4,012. Another one. Doctors for 10,000 people. In Africa, there are two doctors for 10,000 people. In the European region, there are 32 doctors for 10,000 people."

In one of its many statistical¹⁰ graphs, the WHO study shows money can mean the difference between life and death. It notes three out of 1,000 children under age five die in Iceland, Sweden and Finland compared to 262 child deaths per 1,000 live births in Sierra Leone.

 

1 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

2 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

3 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

4 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？

5 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

6 constraining   

强迫( constrain的现在分词 )； 强使； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• He was constraining his mind not to wander from the task. 他克制着不让思想在工作时开小差。
• The most constraining resource in all of these cases is venture capital. 在所有这些情况下最受限制的资源便是投入资本。

7 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

8 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

9 expenditure   

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

• The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
• The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

10 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。