VOA标准英语2011--UN's 'Every Woman Every Child' Program S

UN's 'Every Woman Every Child' Program Saves Lives

A year ago, the United Nations launched a global campaign called “Every Woman, Every Child,” a public health project aimed at reducing the number of women dying from pregnancy¹ and childbirth-related complications. Our correspondent reports that while some countries are making progress toward that goal, others lag behind.
“Every Woman Every Child” was designed to speed progress toward two of the United Nations so-called Millennium² Development Goals: improving maternal³ health and raising child survival rates. Reaching those goals could save as many as 16 million lives by 2015. And according to Susana Edjang, the project’s general manager, that will require clearer policies and better health services. She says in just one year, she's already seen some of those positive changes.
“We have seen how changes in policy has resulted in new cadres of health professionals being setup and deployed⁴ around countries like Bangladesh," said Edjang. "The momentum⁵ is going and we have more commitments on the table.”
Commitments to policy changes and better health services from more than 50 countries, says Yves Bergevin, senior maternal health advisor⁶ at the United Nations Population Fund.
“Some governments have committed to changing the age of marriage to age 18," said Bergevin. "Others have increased the access to family planning services. Others have to do with the funding allocations towards health, moving the share going to health to 15 percent of government expenditures⁷.”
Yet, despite these strides, there is much work left to do:
“A woman today in 2011 dies in child birth every two minutes," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted⁸ at a recent meeting of global health experts that between 1990 and 2008, there was a 34 percent drop in the maternal mortality rate worldwide. But she said even if the rate went down 40 to 50 percent in places like Bangladesh and Nepal, pregnant women in other places haven’t been so fortunate.
“A woman in Sub Saharan Africa today remains⁹ 136 times more likely to die in childbirth than one in a developed country," said Clinton.
Owen Montgomery was in West Africa recently and saw the health challenges first-hand:
"In parts of the world such as Gambia, where I was just recently, it's more than a two-hour ride by ambulance if you have an ambulance to get to a hospital where they can do a delivery," said Montgomery.
And that, says U.S.AID administrator¹⁰ Rajiv Shah, is why it's essential to find new ways to give pregnant women - especially those living in rural areas - quicker access to critical health services.
“Like low cost resuscitations devices, improved jaundice treatment systems, electronic and cell-phone-based blood monitoring, new drugs and diagnostics," said Shah.
The U.N. Population Fund's Yves Bergevin says he has seen progress in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Burkina Faso. He noted that “Every Woman, Every Child” is partnering not just with governments but also with private foundations, non-governmental groups and corporations.
“So [we are] trying to go from business-as-usual to a global movement for women and children, with real measurable commitments that will keep partners accountable," he said.
Something, Bergevin says, that will be very different from the past.

1 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

2 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

3 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。

4 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

5 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

6 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

7 expenditures   

n.花费( expenditure的名词复数 )；使用；（尤指金钱的）支出额；（精力、时间、材料等的）耗费

参考例句：

• We have overspent.We'll have to let up our expenditures next month. 我们已经超支了，下个月一定得节约开支。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pension includes an allowance of fifty pounds for traffic expenditures. 年金中包括50镑交通费补贴。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。