VOA健康报道2024--South Africa's 'Health Train' Travels to Patients in Need

In South Africa, a former passenger train now serves as a traveling medical center to provide health services to people in need.

The train is known as Phelophepa. In the Sesotho language, this means "good, clean, health." It travels across South Africa to provide medical care to a mix of patients for whom usual heath care is unavailable or rare.

The train has been operating since South Africa's government ended its racist¹ system of apartheid in the early 1990s. The train carries medical professionals around the country, even to the most rural villages. Officials say the service helps at least 375,000 South Africans each year.

The care patients receive is separate from the government's main public health care system. That system serves an estimated 84 percent of the population. But government insurance plans are too costly² for many people to pay for. South Africa is also dealing³ with an unemployment rate of more than 32 percent.

The government has taken some steps to help get more of the nation's population covered by public health insurance plans.

One of those came in May, when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law creating the country's National Health Insurance Act. The law aims to provide financial assistance to millions of South Africans who do not currently⁴ have health insurance. The program gets support from private insurers.

However, the National Health Insurance Act has been hotly debated. Critics have said government officials have not yet said how much the program will cost or where that money will come from. Economists⁵ have predicted the government will have to raise taxes to finance⁶ the law. Critics have urged the government to instead fix the country's public healthcare system.

Thethiwe Mahlangu has used the health train and recently spoke⁷ to The Associated Press about her experiences. She said local health clinics in her area - in the township of Tembisa, east of Johannesburg - cannot effectively serve her needs.

"There we are not treated well," Mahlangu said. "We are made to sit in the sun for long periods. You can sit there from 7 a.m. until around 4 p.m. when the clinic closes." She noted⁸ that when people ask about such issues, the medical workers say they simply need bigger hospitals.

When the train began in 1994, many Black people in South Africa still lived in rural villages with little availability to health centers. The time was a period of great change in South Africa. Today, the trains assist the growing populations of the capital, Pretoria, as well as Johannesburg, the country's economic center.

Shemona Kendiah is the train's manager. She told the AP trains can remain in one place for multiple days to see as many people as possible. Those going to major population centers - like Tembisa, for example - can end up staying up to two weeks. "The major metros⁹ are really struggling," Kendiah said.

Mahlangu's trip resulted in her getting a new pair of glasses. She was among hundreds of people who received health services from the train on its latest stop.

Another patient, Jane Mabuza, got a full health examination as well as services for her teeth. She said she hopes the train will be able to reach many more people in other areas. "Here on the train you never hear that anything has been finished," Mabuza added.

Words in This Story

apartheid - n. a political system that existed in South Africa's past in which the white minority enjoyed government power over Black people who were made to live separately

insurance - n. an agreement in which you pay a company to cover necessary costs in case there is an accident that causes damage or injuries

1 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

2 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

5 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 finance   

n.财务管理，财政，金融，财源，资金

参考例句：

• She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
• A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。

7 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。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 metros   

n.地下铁路( metro的名词复数 )；（尤指）巴黎地铁

参考例句：

• The map says the highest peak in this vicinity is 1500 metros. 地图显示附近最高点是1500米。 来自互联网
• Cuando estaba en el equipo de atletismo, siempre corría 400 metros. 我在田径队时，总是跑400米。 来自互联网