非洲140万儿童仍处饥饿之中

 

The United Nations Children’s Fund says about 1.4 million children face death from starvation in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

UNICEF issued the warning with an appeal to the world for help to feed these children.

Anthony Lake is UNICEF’s executive director. He said, “Time is running out. We must not repeat the tragedy of the 2011 famine in the Horn of Africa.”

The UN reported that 260,000 people lost their lives in that famine.

Lake described the famine and malnutrition¹ in the four nations today as “largely man-made.”

UNICEF reports more than 250,000 children South Sudan are severely² malnourished. It says hundreds of thousands more are at risk of the same. South Sudan is experiencing the worst hunger situation since civil war began there in 2013.

Famine has been officially declared in two areas of Unity³ State. Challiss McDonough is spokesperson for the World Food Program in East Africa.

“You have got nutrition rates that are astronomical⁴, you have got people with very limited access to food, the mortality rate is above the level that’s required, so they have announced that although you have got a bad food security situation throughout the country, that in those two specific counties, things are about as bad as they can get.”

McDonough and other UN officials blame the continued civil war in South Sudan, along with a collapsing⁵ economy, high food prices and low agricultural production.

“If we had peace and could work on agricultural development, then yes, in the long run, there is enormous potential for South Sudanese agriculture. But you can't farm when you are fighting, or you can't farm when it is not safe to go into your fields because somebody else is fighting.”

The United Nations said 450,000 children in northeast Nigeria are also facing severe malnutrition. The Famine Early Warning System Network, or FEWS NET, said attacks by Boko Haram militants⁶ have made it hard to transport food.

In Yemen, UNICEF says it is providing help for 320,000 children, but that much more help is needed. FEWS NET says the continuing military conflict there has interfered⁷ with food supplies.

The U.N. estimates that half of Somalia's population, 6.2 million people, is threatened by drought following two failed rainy seasons. It says Puntland and Somaliland are the hardest hit areas.

UNICEF said children were the country’s most vulnerable people.

A UNICEF spokesman said the number of young suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Somalia "is expected to rise to 270,000 in the next few months."

Farm animals are dying in large numbers. In Somaliland, the drought has killed more than 10 million goats and sheep.

Farmer Mohamud Ibrahim Yassin says few of his 150 animals can make the 20-kilometer walk from his farm to water. He says most are too weak to complete the walk and are too skinny to sell.

“If we get rain, they will survive, but if there is no rain, I don’t think they will survive,” he said.

Words in This Story

famine - n. a situation in which many people do not have enough food to eat

disrupt -- v. to interfered with normal activities

shortage - n. not enough

county - n. an area of a state or country that is larger than a city and has its own government to deal with local matters

enormous - adj. very large

potential - n. capable of becoming real

skinny - adj. too thin

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 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

3 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

4 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

5 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》