VOA标准英语2009年-Africa Working to Reduce Obstetric Fis

Health officials in Africa are working to better care for women who suffer the childbearing injury of obstetric fistula. Usually the result of days of obstructed¹ labor², the baby often dies and the mother is left with chronic³ incontinence.

Scott Stearns | Dakar 22 December 2009

The U.N. Fund for Population Activity says more than 600,000 African women already suffer from obstetric fistula with as many as 30,000 new cases each year.

Poverty is the biggest factor.  Access to a Caesarean section to relieve the pressure of obstructed labor is the most common way of preventing an unborn child from pressing so tightly in the birth canal that it cuts off blood flow to surrounding tissue.

Once common in Europe and the United States, cases of obstetric fistula now occur almost entirely⁴ in the developing world where poor nutrition and girls giving birth before their pelvis is fully⁵ developed contribute to the risks.

At the Africa Regional Conference on Fistula and Maternal⁶ Health, more than 150 people from 40 countries and partner organizations met in Mauritania to better integrate fistula care into existing national health care systems.  They discussed involving more fistula survivors⁷ in civil society groups working on the issue and better coordinating⁸ the work of those groups into  regional networks.

Women unable to control their bladder and bowel⁹ movements are often abandoned or neglected by husbands and family.  Many end up relying on charity.

Reconstructive surgery can mend most of the injuries.  The procedure plus two weeks of post-operative care and counseling to help address emotional issues and help women reintegrate into society can all be done for as little as $300.

Yahya Kane is a program specialist with the U.N. Fund for Population Activity.  He says in most areas where fistula is common, the capacity for treatment cannot meet demand.

Kane says $30 million in new funding announced at the conference in Mauritania will help national fistula programs across Africa.  He says the existence of fistulas means the health system has failed somewhere.  Kane says it is a human rights issue that is not sufficiently¹⁰ respected - rights that are not just for the privileged but are universal.

Kane says promoting women's rights and their access to quality health care across Africa will lead naturally to a stable political environment, economic prosperity, foreign investment, and sustainable development.

The U.N. Fund for Population Activity and the World Health Organization are working with national ministries¹¹ of health in a global campaign to end fistula that now covers more than 40 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

The campaign aims to expand available treatment and reduce the social stigma¹² associated with fistula, while improving obstetric care and training health providers.
 

1 obstructed   

阻塞( obstruct的过去式和过去分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• Tall trees obstructed his view of the road. 有大树挡着，他看不到道路。
• The Irish and Bristol Channels were closed or grievously obstructed. 爱尔兰海峡和布里斯托尔海峡或遭受封锁，或受到了严重阻碍。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

7 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

8 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

9 bowel   

n.肠(尤指人肠)；内部，深处

参考例句：

• Irritable bowel syndrome seems to affect more women than men.女性比男性更易患肠易激综合征。
• Have you had a bowel movement today?你今天有排便吗？

10 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

11 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

12 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。