VOA标准英语2014--Only Hospital in Sudan's S. Kordofan Struggles to Treat Patients

 

Only Hospital in Sudan's S. Kordofan Struggles to Treat Patients

DELAMI COUNTY, SOUTH KORDOFAN—

The rebel-held areas of Sudan's Nuba Mountains have been under blockade since the start of a civil war in 2011 — with the Sudanese government denying all access for food, supplies and humanitarian¹ aid. At the only hospital in the region, deaths due to preventable illnesses are on the increase.

Mother of Mercy Hospital is the only medical facility in all of South Kordofan province. The 80-bed hospital runs at triple its capacity. The staff is currently dealing² with a large-scale measles³ outbreak — with more than 1,000 admissions for measles alone just last month, and a 25-per-thousand measles-related fatality⁴ rate. Nurse Maizub Hassen says many more cases are assumed to be undetected in rural villages.

“This is when the measles become serious. They come to the hospital. Every day we do receive almost 20 admissions, sometimes 10 admissions in a day, and it is really very, very dangerous here," he said. “But the bigger problem here is the vaccines⁶. We don't have vaccines at all.”

For three years, Sudan's government has refused to let humanitarian aid into rebel-controlled areas. As a result, vaccine⁵ supplies were cut off, leaving the whole community here unvaccinated and thousands of children at risk of dying from otherwise preventable diseases. Hassen also checks the younger children for signs of malnutrition⁷. He says at least 40 percent of these children are malnourished because of poor access to food.

Sometimes it's because mothers are not feeding, and sometimes it's because of sickness, "but mostly it's because of lack of food," he said. "They are not getting the food which gives a balanced diet.”

In addition to the blockade, Sudan's government has been accused of targeting civilians⁸, hospitals and aid convoys⁹ destroying the little resources left in this cut-off region, though the government denies those allegations. Clinical officer Moral Said says many are injured but the hospital lacks enough supplies to treat them.

“Since the war started in 2011, we really have had a lot of patients who have been wounded, where there have been gunshots [from] Antonov jet fighters," he said. In 2014 alone, there were almost 300 such cases, he said.

Just outside the hospital, villagers constantly watch the skies for warplanes. Children play in foxholes¹⁰. Every shopkeeper has a dugout to hide in. Just a few weeks ago, six young children were killed in a single missile strike in a market. Nowal, 11, was the only survivor¹¹. Five of her brothers and sisters were killed. Nowal's mother, Naires Osman, says she was away when the bombs fell.

“When I came home, I saw my five children just dead on the floor, and my daughter here was wounded," she said. "I was confused. I did not know what to do. I was out of my mind. I could not believe what had happened, and, that day, I decided¹² to come here and stay in Gidel.”

Ambulance driver Amir was one of the first people to arrive at the scene. He displayed a picture of the house after the bomb hit.

“I feel so bad. I don't have the power to do anything. I just pray,” the mother of the dead children said.

The "Enough Project," an anti-genocide group, says Sudan's regime "continues to use the denial of humanitarian aid as a weapon of war." Without open humanitarian corridors, the Nuba mountains remain cut off from the outside world, and the region's only hospital is left struggling to cope.

1 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

4 fatality   

n.不幸，灾祸，天命

参考例句：

• She struggle against fatality in vain.她徒然奋斗反抗宿命。
• He began to have a growing sense of fatality.他开始有一种越来越强烈的宿命感。

5 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

6 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

7 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 convoys   

n.（有护航的）船队( convoy的名词复数 )；车队；护航（队）；护送队

参考例句：

• Truck convoys often stop over for lunch here. 车队经常在这里停下来吃午饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A UN official said aid programs will be suspended until there's adequate protection for relief convoys. 一名联合国官员说将会暂停援助项目，直到援助车队能够得到充分的保护为止。 来自辞典例句

10 foxholes   

n.散兵坑( foxhole的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Man foxholes were hollowed out by the soldiers before fighting. 战斗打响之前，士兵们挖出许多个人掩体。 来自互联网
• Digging foxholes can be effective providing your enemy does not have garrison clearing units. 在敌人没有清空建筑单位时，挖散兵坑也是有效的方式。 来自互联网

11 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

12 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。