VOA标准英语2009-UN Boosting Telecommunications to Improve He

The United Nations is helping¹ modernize² telecommunications for health workers in West Africa so they can better access information about disease and consult with physicians in remote areas.

The World Health Organization says Africa is lagging behind other parts of the world in treating HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis³, and Malaria⁴. In response, the U.N. Economic and Social Council is supporting the expansion of telecommunications technology for health care workers.

Dr. Stennar Pedersen is the director of the Norwegian Center for Telemedicine at the University of North Norway. He is a consultant⁵ for the WHO program known as "eHealth", which he says gives health care workers new ways to better treat their patients.

"Technically⁶ it is not a question of where you living on the globe. The benefit is easier access to knowledge, easier access to medical specialists," he said. "It is easier to get people educated. It is easier for people themselves to seek medical information."

Pedersen met with West African health officials at a U.N. seminar on eHealth in the Ghanaian capital, Accra.

The Director General of Ghanaian health services Dr. Elias Sory says eHealth will reduce the impact of personnel shortages while making it easier to train existing staff.

"If you get a doctor who is away in the village and has come across a case he or she thinks is beyond him or her, why cannot that doctor be able link up easily with a senior doctor in Korle Bu to get advice on it? So we are not there. But eHealth will get us there," said Sory. "The other thing is that medicine is dynamic. Why cannot we use that to train? We do not need people to all come to Korle Bu in order to be upgraded in knowledge. eHealth can bridge that gap. And, to me, medical education is even one of the most important ingredients of eHealth."

At noon in the outpatient department of Ridge⁷ Hospital in Accra, there are still nearly 200 people waiting to see a doctor.

Sory says eHealth should help medical professionals provide care more efficiently⁸ so more people are treated in less time.

The program must be tailored to each West African country's health care needs and level of technological⁹ development. While there is still much work to be done, Sory says there is no time to waste.

"When you are talking about advancement¹⁰ it is not anything that is going to be like a dream in the skies. Where patients can easily get access to his or her doctor," he said. "We might not be there yet, but until we begin the first steps we will not be there."

The goal of the eHealth program is not only to better connect physicians for diagnostic purposes, but also to encourage them to share best practices and allow participating ministries¹¹ of health to develop ethical¹² and legal policies covering the collection and storage of electronic health information to ensure patient confidentiality¹³.

1 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。

2 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

3 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

4 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

5 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

6 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

7 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

8 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

9 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

10 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

11 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

12 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

13 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。