2007年VOA标准英语-USAID Campaign Against Malaria Kicks Off in Dak

By Selah Hennessy
Dakar
30 May 2007

More than a quarter of the deaths of children under five in Senegal can be attributed to malaria¹.  A U.S. government campaign to distribute mosquito nets and educate the population about treatment and prevention aims to cut that number in half.  Selah Hennessy has more from Dakar's crowded and impoverished² suburbs, where the U.S. ambassador kicked off this year's campaign.

Malaria is spread by mosquitoes

A festive³ mood prevailed Tuesday in the Dakar suburb of Pikine, as the community celebrated⁴ health initiatives in the neighborhood.

Vitamin A was distributed to children as part of a nutrition program organized by the Senegalese government, and the U.S. aid agency AID handed out bed nets treated with insecticide to women and children as part of a program to fight malaria.

According to USAID, more than one million cases of malaria are reported in Senegal each year.  More than 25 percent of children who die have succumbed⁵ to malaria.

Yonde Sene lives in Pikine.  On Tuesday, she was given a bed net for her five-month-old baby.

She says many people suffer from malaria in Pikine. She adds that malaria medication is usually expensive and that free aid programs help very much.

President Bush's five-year program called the President's Malaria Initiative is one such program.  It has allocated⁶ more than $1 million to 15 African countries.

U.S. ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau Janice Jacobs spoke⁷ to the crowd in Pikine to launch a three-day campaign to distribute bed nets.

"Senegal is one of the countries most affected⁸ by malaria, it is the leading cause of death in Senegal, so it was identified early on as one of the beneficiaries," she said.

She says the aim of the initiative is to cut malaria deaths in Senegal by half before 2010.

"We are working in all of the districts in Senegal, really spreading out," she added.  "We have a lot of people working on education in addition to the four parts of our program, so that is really our hope."

Aladji Thiombane helps coordinate⁹ health care for the Senegalese government in Pikine.  He agrees that malaria must be the focus of medical aid in Senegal.

"Before AIDS and cerebral¹⁰ problems, you have malaria in the first place, because it kills both the mothers and the children," he said.  "Every year you can find many children killed by malaria here in Senegal."

He says malaria aid projects are crucial to saving lives in Senegal.

"I hope that malaria will go out in Senegal, but we cannot have it without projects like this," he added.  "Everyday you can see mothers coming to the district bringing their children who are sick with malaria."

But he says aid programs need to visit Pikine more frequently if malaria is to be eradicated¹¹ there.  He worries that malaria will still be a big problem in 2010, when the project is to end.

"It is a pity that we do not have a project like this every day or every month, but there is only four years that we can have this project," he said.  "If they can come every year, why not?  It would be a good thing for all of us."

According to the United Nations Children's Fund, only two percent of children under age five sleep under bed nets in Senegal.

1 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

2 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 festive   

adj.欢宴的，节日的

参考例句：

• It was Christmas and everyone was in festive mood.当时是圣诞节，每个人都沉浸在节日的欢乐中。
• We all wore festive costumes to the ball.我们都穿着节日的盛装前去参加舞会。

4 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

5 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

6 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

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 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。

9 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

10 cerebral   

adj.脑的，大脑的；有智力的，理智型的

参考例句：

• Your left cerebral hemisphere controls the right-hand side of your body.你的左半脑控制身体的右半身。
• He is a precise,methodical,cerebral man who carefully chooses his words.他是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。

11 eradicated   

画着根的

参考例句：

• Polio has been virtually eradicated in Brazil. 在巴西脊髓灰质炎实际上已经根除。
• The disease has been eradicated from the world. 这种疾病已在全世界得到根除。