VOA标准英语2012--AIDS Funding Boosts Overall Healthcare

AIDS Funding Boosts Overall Healthcare

The battle against HIV/AIDS has received more donor¹ funding than most other diseases combined. Many tens of billions of dollars has been spent in the more than 30 years of the epidemic². The amount of funding has raised concerns among some that attention is being taken away from other killer³ diseases. Now, a new study says that’s not the case.

The 6 year study took place at health clinics in Rwanda.

Dr. Donald Shepard of Brandeis University, lead author, said, “There’d been a lot of speculation⁴ on both sides: The negative side that it drew attention, resources away -- and conversely on a positive side that it could help the health system more generally. And so we thought that an empirical study could help throw light on this.”

He said Rwanda offered an opportunity to settle the debate.

“The AIDS program was in the process of being rolled out to many health facilities. So that it made it possible to do this controlled study of looking at facilities that already had AIDS services and other facilities that were similar but didn’t. To try to see in that country at least what the actual impact had been,” he said.

Reaching a conclusion

Researchers focused on how those clinics performed.

“There were two teams of researchers that visited each of the health centers in the study. We developed a questionnaire that compiled data about – what in lingo⁵ is termed – inputs⁶ and outputs into each of the health centers. The inputs were the staff that they had drugs and other items that they received and the outputs were a series of services that they produced, particularly in terms of visits and vaccinations⁷ and other types of services by health facility by year,” he said.

The findings were published in the May edition of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene⁸. They refuted claims that efforts against other diseases were being harmed by the large amount of funding for HIV/AIDS.

“We concluded,” said Shepard, “that there was no evidence at all of the adverse⁹ effect that some researchers had feared and speculated about – and some evidence that indeed that there were positive spinoffs.”

The study said one of the positive spinoffs was that health centers offering AIDS services “provided better preventive care than those that did not, including superior delivery of childhood vaccinations.”

Integration¹⁰

Shepard added that “Rwanda’s progress against HIV/AIDS has not come at the expense of addressing other health needs.”

“Rwanda has had a very deliberate policy of integrating AIDS services into its healthcare system. So while from a donors’ viewpoint AIDS has separate mechanisms¹¹ – in Rwanda’s case the Global Fund and PEPFAR – within the country itself it had made a very conscious effort of trying to integrate AIDS into the healthcare system and has helped to strengthen the healthcare system more generally in Rwanda,” he said.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis¹² and Malaria¹³ and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief provide much of the funding for treatment, care, prevention and research.

Researchers said further evidence that AIDS funding can boost overall healthcare in a country can be found in an Ethiopian study. Following an increase in AIDS spending, Ethiopia saw a decline nationwide in mortality rates while immunization rates rose and “pre-natal care improved.”

1 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

2 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

3 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

4 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

5 lingo   

n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语

参考例句：

• If you live abroad it helps to know the local lingo.住在国外，学一点当地的语言自有好处。
• Don't use all that technical lingo try and explain in plain English.别尽用那种专门术语，用普通的词语解释吧。

6 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

7 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

9 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

10 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

11 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

13 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。