VOA标准英语2014--在肯尼亚计划生育是经济安全保障

 

In Kenya, Family Planning is an Economic Safeguard 在肯尼亚计划生育是经济安全保障

With Kenya's population expected to double by the year 2050, the government and non-governmental organizations are investing heavily in family planning. Providing contraception and education to women is not just about population control, it's also about protecting the country's economic interests.

There are more than 40 million people in Kenya, and the population keeps rising.

The average family has five children. While that number is down from two decades ago, the exploding population is outpacing the provision of resources and services, which are already stretched thin.

Anne Okwisa is a mother of four living in Nairobi's Kibera settlement, one of the poorest areas of the country.

She is discussing her birth-control options with a clinician, because she does not think she can afford to have any more.

“I feel that the cost of living has gone up and the number of children that I have are the ones I am able to take care of," she said. "If I give birth to more children, I don’t have that kind of job which I can say will make me meet the needs of more children and that’s why I decided¹ to use family planning, so that I can take care of my children.”

Seeing the economic advantage of family planning, the government and NGOs help clinics like these, so patients can access contraception cheaply.

Walter Adoli says his clinic gets a lot of support.

“For example, the government provides the supplies, the family planing methods and we also have NGOs that volunteer to do family planning, for example surgical² methods of family planning like tubal ligation and vasectomy,” he said.

Kenya's Health Ministry³ has said increasing access to family planning resources is key to meeting the country's development goals in the coming decades.

Alex Bosire, an obstetrician-gynecologist who has worked in Nairobi the last eight years, says the strong emphasis on family planning is good for individual patients and the health of the country at large.

“You do not want the population of your country to just explode because you will not be able to provide them with jobs, unemployment would be a big thing. Provisions of social amenities⁴ and social services would be affected⁵ if the population is not controlled, so to speak, by use of family planning,” he said.

Bosire says he has also noticed that women patients are increasingly breaking free of past societal taboos⁶ about contraception, and are more willing to ask about their options.

“With education that's been rolled out by the government, and some of the NGOs out there, there has been more acceptance to this, and the fact that now there are more and more ladies coming out and saying 'hey, I need contraception,'” he said.

But despite progress in Kenya, government statistics show nearly 50 percent of pregnancies⁷ in the country are reported to be unplanned, and there is still a long way to go to ensure population growth does not outpace the economy.

1 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。

2 surgical   

adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的

参考例句：

• He performs the surgical operations at the Red Cross Hospital.他在红十字会医院做外科手术。
• All surgical instruments must be sterilised before use.所有的外科手术器械在使用之前，必须消毒。

3 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。

4 amenities   

n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快

参考例句：

• The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。
• Parks and a theatre are just some of the town's local amenities. 公园和戏院只是市镇娱乐设施的一部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 taboos   

禁忌( taboo的名词复数 )； 忌讳； 戒律； 禁忌的事物（或行为）

参考例句：

• She was unhorsed by fences, laws and alien taboos. 她被藩蓠、法律及外来的戒律赶下了马。
• His mind was charged with taboos. 他头脑里忌讳很多。

7 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。