U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he will head a new task force to tackle the global food crisis that is plunging tens of millions of people into poverty and hunger. He is calling for international donors to urgently fund a three-quarter-billion-dollar shortfall by the World Food Program. The appeal follows a two-day U.N.-sponsored meeting in the Swiss capital, Bern, aimed at finding measures to deal with soaring food prices.
联合国秘书长潘基文星期二表示，他将领导一个新的特别工作组来处理全球粮食危机。这场全球性的粮食危机正在使数千万人陷入贫困和饥饿。潘基文还呼吁国际社会增加捐款，以满足世界粮食计划署迫切需要的援助资金。潘基文是在瑞士首都伯尔尼主持召开两天的紧急会议之后发表这番讲话的。联合国举行这次紧急会议就是为了解决粮食价格飙升引起的严重问题。
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says participants at the emergency meeting discussed concrete measures to feed the hungry. He says the dramatic escalation in food prices worldwide has evolved into an unprecedented challenge of global proportions. He says it has become a crisis for the world's most vulnerable, including the urban poor.
联合国秘书长潘基文说，这次紧急会议的与会者讨论了防止饥饿的具体办法。他指出，世界范围内的粮食价格扶摇直上给全球带来了一场前所未有的挑战。对于世界上最弱势的群体来说，尤其是城市贫民，粮价上涨已经变成了一场致命的危机。
Mr. Ban says governments must urgently contribute $755 million to the World Food Program.
潘基文表示，各国政府必须立即行动起来，为世界粮食计划署筹措7.55亿美元的紧急资金。
"Without full funding of these emergency requirements, we risk again the specter of widespread hunger, malnutrition and social unrest on an unprecedented scale," he said. "We anticipate that additional funding will be required."
他说：“如果这些紧急需求不能完全满足，我们面临的风险将是：饥饿、营养不良和社会动乱将以前所未有的规模再次蔓延。我们预期，更多的救援资金将是必不可少的。”
U.N. officials believe 100 million people have been driven into poverty and hunger because of skyrocketing food prices. The World Food Program says it cannot afford to buy food with the money it has. For example, it notes the price of a metric ton of rice has more than doubled since March.
联合国官员相信，由于粮食价格暴涨，目前已经有一亿人陷入贫困和饥饿。世界粮食计划署说，现有的资金根本不够给这些急需救济的人们购买粮食，因为从3月份到现在，每公吨大米的价格已经上涨了两倍多。
WFP director Josette Sheeran says the agency has received $471 million in pledges.
世界粮食计划署执行主任约瑟特.施林说，该机构已经得到4.71亿美元的捐款承诺，相当于所需资金的62%。
"We only have 18 million of that cash in hand," said Sheeran. "And, so this becomes urgent because we cannot procure the food until we have the cash in hand and so we are bumping into a real urgent time frame of needing to get these commitments in as soon as possible so that we can keep these programs whole and we are getting stretched across the globe where we cannot do so."
施林说：“我们手里现在只有1千8百万美元的现金。所以，情况变得非常紧急，因为拿不到现金就买不到粮食。我们正处于一个危急时刻，迫切需要得到捐款，以使我们的援助计划全面展开。可是我们目前在全球范围完全是心有余而力不足。”
World Bank President Robert Zoellick says this crisis will not be over once the emergency needs are addressed.
世界银行行长佐利克说，即使目前的紧急需求得到满足，这场危机的深远影响也难以消失。
"The International Community needs to come in to working together to respond with policy initiatives so that this year's crisis does not become a generation's fact of life," he said. "Already, hunger and malnutrition are the underlying causes of death of over 3.5 million children every year, robbing the future potential of many millions more."
他说：“国际社会需要齐心协力，通过政策规划来做出回应，防止今年的危机演变成为一代人的命运。我们已经看到，饥饿和营养不良每年都使350多万儿童死亡，并且使另外数以百万计的人丧失了创造未来的潜力。”
Increasing food prices are not the only problem afflicting the poor. The United Nations says farmers in developing countries are planting less and producing less because of the escalating cost of fertilizer and energy. It says efforts must be made to support these farmers.
粮食价格暴涨并不是折磨穷人的唯一问题。联合国说，由于化肥和能源成本飙升，发展中国家的农民不得不减少种植和生产。联合国提出，必须做出努力来支持这些农民。
The task force chaired by Secretary-General Ban will be made up of various heads of U.N. and international agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, UNICEF and the World Bank. The group will explore ways to bring down the cost of food and increase agricultural production in poor countries.
由联合国秘书长潘基文挂帅的特别工作组将由联合国和其他国际机构的领导人组成，其中包括联合国粮农组织、联合国儿童基金会和世界银行。这个特别工作组将探讨各种途经来降低贫穷国家的粮食成本，增加农业生产。 |