VOA标准英语2011--Senegal Tests Controversial Maternal Hea

Senegal Tests Controversial Maternal¹ Health Drug

A controversial drug that can save women from bleeding to death after delivery has shown promising² results in trials conducted in Senegal.
Everyday, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 1,000 women die each day during complications with pregnancy³ and childbirth. WHO research shows 99 percent of these cases occur in developing countries where a quarter die from severe post-delivery bleeding.
The drug misoprostol, sold under the name Cytotec in the United States, may offer an easy and cost-effective solution. It is sold in tablet form and remains⁴ stable at room temperature, which makes it practical in hotter climates. Misoprostol trials have been conducted in developing countries such as Nepal, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Senegal to help women without access to proper healthcare facilities or trained staff.
Doctor Bocaf Daff is in charge of the reproductive health division at the Ministry⁵ of Health and Prevention in Senegal. He has been leading a USAID-funded research project on misoprostol since 2008. They have tested its use after the delivery of more than 300 babies at community health clinics in two regions in Senegal.
Dr. Daff says patients were very willing to take part in the study, and in 80-85% of all cases the tests were successful. But to be sure their findings are consistent, they need to expand to a larger scale and ensure that all staff is skilled in how to follow the procedures accurately⁶.
Controversy⁷
Misoprostol is a controversial drug within the sexual and reproductive health communities. It was originally developed in the 1980's to treat ulcers⁸, but is also commonly used to terminate pregnancy.
Dr. Daff says he knows it can be very dangerous, if it is misused⁹ to perform abortions¹⁰. So health care providers have to be careful. But Dr. Daff says he is confident that misoprostol can be used without problems if medical personnel are properly trained.
Reducing the rate of maternal deaths by three quarters between 1990 and 2015 is one of the eight Millennium¹¹ Development Goals. In most of sub-Saharan Africa, less than two thirds of women have access to a skilled health worker during delivery. This puts them at much greater risk of complications. And when a woman dies, the chances her own baby will survive are slim.
Saving lives
Thilde Knudsen is a midwife and leader of the Intersectional¹² Working Group on Sexual and Reproductive Health for the aid group Doctors Without Borders. Her group uses misoprostol for postpartum hemorrhaging in countries around the world.
"It plays a tremendous role in saving women's lives, because a lot of maternal death, especially in Africa are due to PPH - so postpartum hemorrhage - and to have a drug that can be administered by lesser¹³ skilled staff and be kept without a cold chain, so without a refrigerator, it is definitely one step forward in having that accessible in a delivery facilities for example in Africa and that will help," said Knudsen.
In Senegal specifically, UNICEF estimates that for every 100,000 live births 410 mothers will die. In developed nations this number is closer to nine. Dr. Daff is confident the rate of maternal deaths in Senegal has gone down, but he does not yet have exact numbers.
Dr. Daff says his job is to fight against maternal mortality and child deaths in Senegal, and he will use whatever means he can. A woman who is hemorrhaging post-delivery and is more than 15 kilometers from the nearest hospital or health clinic might die before she gets help. He says that if they have the chance to test a drug that may help these women, then why not.
Awaiting approval
The World Health Organization has not formally approved misoprostol for treating postpartum hemorrhaging. Dr. Daff says that might make things easier but does not really matter.
He says many times they've approved something that actually puts doctors behind, and other times they deny something that later proves to be good. So somewhere along the way countries have to take control of their own research; to experiment, validate¹⁴ and test whatever may help in the development of science.
With a testing protocol¹⁵ that is validated¹⁶ by an ethics¹⁷ committee, Dr. Daff says there is no stopping his group from continuing their research into reducing maternal mortality.

1 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。

2 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

3 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。

4 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。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 ulcers   

n.溃疡( ulcer的名词复数 )；腐烂物；道德败坏；腐败

参考例句：

• Detachment of the dead cells produces erosions and ulcers. 死亡细胞的脱落，产生糜烂和溃疡。 来自辞典例句
• 75% of postbulbar ulcers occur proximal to the duodenal papilla. 75％的球后溃疡发生在十二指肠乳头近侧。 来自辞典例句

9 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

11 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。

12 intersectional   

adj.交叉（点）的，区际的

参考例句：

• Psychology as an intersectional science is affected by the time spirit apparently. 作为交叉学科的心理学，受时代精神或者社会思潮的影响是很明显的。 来自互联网

13 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

14 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

15 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

16 validated   

v.证实( validate的过去式和过去分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Time validated our suspicion. 时间证实了我们的怀疑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The decade of history since 1927 had richly validated their thesis. 1927年以来的十年的历史，充分证明了他们的论点。 来自辞典例句

17 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。