医学委员会敦促喀麦隆关闭非法医院

AS IT IS 2015-11-06 Group Urges Cameroon Government to Close 1,000 Hospitals 医学委员会敦促喀麦隆关闭非法医院

The National Medical Council¹ in Cameroon is calling on government officials to close 1,000 hospitals it says are operating illegally.

The council says the hospitals do not have enough trained medical workers and equipment. It says the medical centers are endangering the lives of millions of people.

But some of the centers have trained, part-time medical workers. These doctors and nurses work in more than one clinic as a way to increase their earnings². And some doctors have left their jobs at government-operated hospitals and opened clinics so they can earn more money.

This is not a new problem for Cameroon. And it seems to be growing. Early last year, VOA reported that the Ministry³ of Health had identified 600 illegal hospitals and clinics.

Then, like today, it said they were responsible for causing deaths. More than a year and a half ago, the health minister said the government would target illegal clinics and close them if they did not have permission to operate.   

Cameroon’s medical council now says 200 medical centers are operating illegally in the capital, Yaounde. Reporter Moki Edwin Kindzeka visited one such clinic recently. He spoke⁴ with Yannick Ahanda, one of 20 people waiting for medical care.

He says he likes to go to private clinics because patients do not need to wait a long time to see a doctor or nurse. He adds that at government hospitals, patients are sometimes told after a long wait to return later because the doctor is not there or at a conference. He also says health care is better at private hospitals and clinics.

An ambulance has brought a 66-year-old woman to the Yaounde Central Hospital. Sylvie Manga is her daughter. She says her family turned to the hospital for specialized⁵ care after several failed attempts to treat her mother at a private clinic.

“You will not imagine that they operate and they forget pieces of cloth, they forget it in the stomach. We carried the patient back home. After some time, we discover that the wound is not getting healed⁶. When we take her back to the hospital, she is operated (on) again and the piece is removed.”

Tetanye Ekoe is vice⁷ president of the medical council. He says the group cannot stay silent while people suffer because of poor care from untrained workers.

Professor Ekoe says there are more than 1,000 illegal and secret hospitals and medical schools throughout the country. He says many use unqualified doctors, laboratory⁸ technicians⁹ and others to treat patients.

More than 500 medical doctors and 5,000 nurses are trained in Cameroon every year. But in 1996, when the economy worsened, the pay of doctors was reduced by 60 percent -- to about $300 per month.

Dr. Viban Eugene owns a private medical facility. He says some doctors open clinics so they can earn more money. He says patients get better care at clinics than at government hospitals.

“There he’s going take more care, there he’s gonna take more time to give adequate¹⁰ care. But in the hospital there are so many people, so many patients, he is not going to get more time.”

The medical council says all doctors working in such hospitals and clinics who are not council members are practicing illegally.

The World Health Organization says Cameroon has only about 25 percent of the doctors it needs. It estimates¹¹ that Cameroon has one doctor for every 40,000 citizens. The country is home to 22-million people.

Words in The News

clinic – n. a place where people get medical help

facility – n. something (such as a building or large piece of equipment) that is built for a specific purpose; a center

prefer – v. to like (someone or something) better than someone or something else

stomach – n. the organ in your body where food goes and begins to be break up after you swallow it

unqualified – adj. not having the skills, knowledge or experience needed to do a job or activity

adequate – adj. good enough; satisfactory¹²

practice - v. to do something again and again; to follow customs or teachings

1 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

6 healed   

v.（使）愈合( heal的过去式和过去分词 )；治愈；（使）结束；较容易忍受

参考例句：

• The surgeon healed the soldier's bullet wound in the leg. 医生治好了那位士兵腿部的枪伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The doctor applied an unguent to the wound,which speedily healed it. 医生给伤口涂了些油膏，伤口很快就愈合了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 laboratory   

n.实验室，化验室

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a laboratory.她捐款成立了一个实验室。
• Our laboratory equipment isn't perfect,but we must make do.实验室设备是不够理想，但我们只好因陋就简。

9 technicians   

技术人员( technician的名词复数 )； 专家； 技巧好的人； （艺术、体育等的）技巧精湛者

参考例句：

• Two technicians were preparing a videotape recording of last week's programme. 两个技术人员正在准备上周节目的录像带。
• The exploitation of natural resources was hampered by the lack of technicians. 自然资源的开发因缺少技术人员而受阻。

10 adequate   

adj.充足的，足够的；适当的，胜任的

参考例句：

• Though a bit too old,he is still adequate to the work.虽然他年纪大了点，却仍能胜任这项工作。
• I hope you will prove adequate to the job.我希望你证明能胜位这项工作。

11 estimates   

估计

参考例句：

• Unofficial estimates put the figure at over two million. 非官方的估计数字为200万以上。
• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 satisfactory   

adj.令人满意的；可喜的；恰当的

参考例句：

• I hope this arrangement will be satisfactory to you.我希望这种安排会使你满意。
• After much discussion we came at a conclusion satisfactory to all.经过充分讨论，我们得出了大家都很满意的结论。