VOA常速英语2019--"世界被忽视热带病日"开幕纪念活动

January 30th marks the first-annual observance of World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day. The hope is that raising awareness¹ of these crippling diseases will increase support as well as investment in the fight against them, particularly in the areas most directly affected².

1月30日是第一个一年一度的世界被忽视热带病日。人们希望，提高对这些严重疾病的认识将增加对抗击这些疾病的支持和投资，特别是在受影响最直接的地区。

Neglected tropical diseases, or NTDs, are maladies of the poorest of the poor. They are chronic³ disabling illnesses that thrive in areas with inadequate⁴ sanitation⁵ and lack of clean drinking water.

被忽视的热带病是穷人中最贫穷的人的疾病。它们是慢性致残疾病，在卫生设施不足和缺乏清洁饮用水的地区肆虐。

NTDs have blinded, disabled, disfigured and killed their victims for centuries. Today, more than 1 billion people suffer with these illnesses. Furthermore, NTDs undermine the future of both the affected individuals and their communities. They lower children’s chances of thriving and of staying in school, as well as the ability of adults to work and be fully⁶ active in their communities, thus perpetuating⁷ the cycle of poverty.

几个世纪以来，国家结核控制规划使受害者致盲、致残、毁容和死亡。今天，超过10亿人患有这些疾病。此外，被忽视的热带病破坏了受影响个人及其社区的未来。它们降低了儿童茁壮成长和继续上学的机会，也降低了成年人工作和充分参与社区活动的能力，从而使贫穷的循环永久化。

Nonetheless, most NTDs are frequently preventable or treatable, often with low-cost medications. So, back in 2006, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, launched the Neglected Tropical Diseases Program, a public-private partnership⁸ to treat those who suffer from NTDs, and to help prevent the spread of these diseases by identifying at-risk communities, distributing medicines through mass campaigns, and measuring results.

尽管如此，大多数被忽视的热带病通常是可预防或可治疗的，通常使用低成本的药物。：因此，早在2006年，美国国际开发署(USAID)就启动了“被忽视的热带病项目”，这是一个公私合作伙伴关系项目，旨在治疗那些罹患被忽视的热带病的患者，并通过确定高危社区、通过大规模运动分发药物和衡量成果来帮助预防这些疾病的传播。

The program targets the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases that have proven, cost-effective health interventions⁹. These include Lymphatic Filariasis, also known as elephantiasis; blinding Trachoma; Onchocerciasis, or River Blindness; Schistosomiasis, which is sometimes called snail¹⁰ fever; and illnesses caused by the Soil Transmitted Helminths hookworm, roundworm, and whipworm.

该规划的目标是已证明具有成本效益的卫生干预措施的最普遍的被忽视热带病。这些疾病包括淋巴丝虫病，也被称为象皮病;致盲性沙眼;盘尾丝虫病或河盲症; 血吸虫病，有时被称为蜗牛热;由土壤引起的疾病会传播蠕虫，如钩虫、蛔虫和鞭虫。

Since the program began in 2006, USAID has helped leverage¹¹ 22 billion dollars in donated drugs from five pharmaceutical¹² companies. That has allowed 2.6 billion treatments of medicine to go to 1.3 billion people, or 1 out of every 6 people around the globe. Thus far, 10 USAID-supported countries have eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease as a public health problem.

自从2006年这个项目开始以来，美国国际开发署已经帮助5家制药公司筹集了220亿美元的捐赠药品。这使13亿人获得了26亿种药物治疗，即全球每6人中就有1人获得药物治疗。迄今为止，10个由美国国际开发署支持的国家已将至少一种被忽视的热带病作为公共卫生问题予以消除。

The United States believes that the first-annual World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day kicks off an important year in the fight against neglected diseases of poverty. Reducing the burden of disease and disability caused by NTDs is essential to improving the lives of the world’s poorest people.

美国认为，第一个一年一度的世界被忽视热带病日拉开了与贫困被忽视疾病斗争的重要一年。减少非木材制品造成的疾病和残疾负担对改善世界最贫困人口的生活至关重要。

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 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。

3 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

4 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

5 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 perpetuating   

perpetuate的现在进行式

参考例句：

• Revenge leads to a self-perpetuating cycle of violence. 怨怨相报会导致永不休止的暴力。
• It'set out to eradicate heresy, and ended by perpetuating it. 它的目的只是要根除异端邪说，结果却巩固了异端邪说。 来自英汉文学

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

10 snail   

n.蜗牛

参考例句：

• Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
• Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

11 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

12 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。