2006年VOA标准英语-Resettlement among Top Humanitarian Issues for

By William Eagle
Washington,DC
29 December 2006

Relief agencies say over the next year they’ll be working to help stabilize¹ Central Africa and especially the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has gone from years of civil war to democratic elections.

UN official Beside Tonwe says, “What’s exciting about this region is that we see change coming. Elections have been held in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; [there’s a] fragile peace in Burundi. Things tend to be settling….”

But the challenges remain: more than a million people are displaced within the DRC, with more than 70 percent of the population needing food aid. Less than half of all Congolese have safe drinking water, and basic health services are largely absent.

Meanwhile, in the Central Africa Republic, armed rebellion and a bankrupt government have put a quarter of the country’s four million people at risk. CAR, which is located between Darfur, Sudan, and Chad, is also the home of more than 200 thousand Sudanese refugees.

Tonwe is the head of the Central and East Africa office for OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination² of Humanitarian³ Affairs in Nairobi.

She says next year; UN humanitarian agencies are appealing for more than 900 million dollars for Central Africa and the Great Lakes region. Of that amount, $687 million would go to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, $130 million to Burundi, and $50 million to the Central African Republic. Another $84 million would go to various projects of mutual⁴ interest to all countries in the region, including health care. “As you know,” says Tonwe, “diseases travel. They know no borders.”

Specifically, the appeals include more than $54 million for educational activities, including a program to teach vocational skills to internally displaced youth and ex-combatants in the region. Women victims of gender-based violence would be given counseling service and help in re-establishing their livelihoods⁵. Financial support is also requested for agriculture ($1,330,000), including about $4 million for food production projects and improved food security for households affected⁶ by HIV/AIDS. Another $4.4 million is projected to help promote human rights and the rule of law.[http://ocha.unog.ch/fts/reports/daily/ocha_R3_A737___06121509.pdf ]

Tonwe says last year only 70 percent of the UN’s $157 million dollar appeal for the region was met. The resulting shortage led to a scramble⁷ to make up the shortfall. “If you don’t get the funds that are required,” she says, “it’s a matter of looking within the regular budgets for some of these organizations, which means you’re taking from Peter to pay Paul -- and you do take away from somebody else. That’s why we rely heavily on donors⁸. And that’s why [the appeals] launched in Nairobi to highlight the issues, the needs, and the differences that funding can make in people’s lives.” (http://ochaonline.un.org/humanitarianappeal/webpage.htm?MenuID=8869&Page=1494)

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1 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

2 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

3 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

4 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

5 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

8 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》