VOA标准英语2013--Conference to Foster Mother, Child Health

 

Conference to Foster Mother, Child Health

The 1st International Conference on Maternal¹, Newborn and Child Health in Africa got underway Thursday in Johannesburg. Organizers say while much has been done to reduce mortality rates, those rates still remain very high.

The African Union says maternal mortality has fallen by more than 40 percent since 1990, while child mortality is down by 33 percent. Nevertheless, it says 57-percent of global maternal deaths occur in Africa, as do half of the global deaths of children under age five. What’s more, the AU says Africa accounts for most of the child deaths from malaria² and HIV/AIDS, as well as many from pneumonia³ and diarrhea.

The AU says the causes of these deaths are preventable, making the theme of the three day conference A Call to Action.

The U.N. Population Fund has announced a new initiative to increase reproductive health services for 45-million adolescent girls. Executive Director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin spoke⁴ about the initiative from Johannesburg.

“Seventy percent of Africa is less than 30 years old. So, we need to ensure that every life and every young person has access to all that their health and education requires to enable them to reach their full potential.”

It’s estimated that by 2030, almost 25-percent of adolescent girls will live in Africa. The population fund says every year more than seven million girls under age 18 give birth.

“We find that in each of the African countries we work in -- 46 of them – adolescent pregnancy⁵ is very high and adolescent mortality from unsafe abortion⁶ is also very high,” he said.

Dr. Osotimehin said that family planning is a big part of the U.N. Population Fund’s strategy.

“In the context of trying to save the lives of mothers, who die giving birth, family planning is a very important intervention⁷. Family planning saves 30 percent of mothers’ lives. When they have family planning they make choices. They have fewer children.”

Africa’s future, he said, will depend very much on educating the younger generations.

“Education is the best intervention you can give in any country, especially girls’ education. Now we know that with girls’ education maternal mortality goes down. Child mortality goes down. Education beyond 18 actually contributes to economic development,” he said.

He said that educated and healthy girls are more likely to delay having children; have healthier children when they do; and earn higher incomes. He added that the “impact of empowering today’s girls will be felt for generations to come.”

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 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。

3 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

4 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。

5 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。

6 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

7 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。