East Africa drought: DEC appeals for funds

 　　A group of UK aid agencies has launched a joint¹ fund-raising appeal to help more than 10 million people affected² by severe drought in the Horn of Africa.

　　Thousands of families in desperate need of food and water have trekked³ for days from Somalia to the Dadaab refugee camp in eastern Kenya.

　　The drought is the worst in East Africa for 60 years and the UN described it as a "humanitarian⁴ emergency".

　　The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal will be broadcast by the BBC.

　　Comedian⁵ Lenny Henry will front the BBC TV appeal while broadcaster Kate Adie will voice the radio version.

　　The DEC said more than 1,300 people a day, the majority children, were arriving in the Dadaab camp - already thought to be the world's largest, with a population of 350,000.

　　'Duty to help'

　　"Slowly but surely, these people have seen their lives fall apart - crops, livestock⁶ and now their homes have been taken by the drought," DEC chief executive Brendan Gormley said.

　　"They've been left with no alternative but to seek shelter and lifesaving help elsewhere.

　　"We have a duty to help quickly before the situation spirals out of control."

　　The UK has pledged ?38m ($61m) in food aid to drought-hit Ethiopia - enough to feed 1.3m people for three months.

　　The DEC appeal will help people in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan, which will officially separate from the Republic of Sudan on 9 July.

　　"Of course these people need a long-term solution with investment and political will - but right now it's about preventing a tragedy," said Mr Gormley.

　　Aid agencies, including the Kenyan Red Cross, the Somali Red Crescent and Action Aid, are being helped by local groups to access remote areas with food, water and medical treatment.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

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 trekked   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• They trekked for three days along the banks of the Zambezi. 他们沿着赞比西河河岸跋涉了三天。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Six-man teams trekked through the woods, respectively for 72 to 96 hours. 6人一组的小分队，经过长途跋涉，穿过了森林，分别用72小时到96小时不等。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

6 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。