2006年VOA标准英语-Red Cross Southern Africa HIV/AIDS Fund Running

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
01 November 2006
 

Francoise Le Goff  
  
The Red Cross says funds for its AIDS programs in southern Africa are due to run out in three months.  Officials made the announcement in South Africa as they launched what they said was the single largest appeal for funds in Red Cross history.

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The Regional Red Cross Representative, Francoise Le Goff, explained that the funding cycle for HIV/AIDS programs in southern Africa normally should last until the end of next year.

"However, we have not covered this budget yet and the money we have will only last until January 2007.  We need to bridge the gap so we need to launch this appeal now," Le Goff says.

She said 100,000 HIV victims aided by the Red Cross and its network of 200,000 volunteers in southern Africa would be threatened by any shortfall of funds.

The organization appealed for $300 million, its largest appeal ever, in order to expand its programs by four times during the next five years.

Mukesh Kapila    
  
The Red Cross Special Representative for HIV/AIDS, Mukesh Kapila, explained why the appeal was launched in southern Africa.

"We are here because this is the world capital of the worldwide epidemic¹ of HIV and AIDS and it is not something to be proud of," Kapila says.

He noted² that southern Africa, which is home to less than four-percent of the world's people, is burdened with one-third of the world's HIV victims, 12 million people.  Each year one-million people die and one million new victims are infected.

He added that the AIDS epidemic has lowered life expectancy³ to below 40 years in some countries and has orphaned⁴ nearly five-million children.

Officials say the epidemic has affected⁵ societies to such an extent that the Red Cross needs to expand its programs to entire communities.  Such programs would include help for AIDS orphans⁶, nutrition, water and sanitation⁷ projects and control of HIV-associated diseases like tuberculosis⁸ and malaria⁹.

Mandissa Kalako-Williams   
  
The head of South Africa's Red Cross, Mandissa Kalako-Williams, noted that southern Africa's Red Cross societies earlier this year (March) made a commitment to scale up their efforts.

"There is no greater priority for all the Red Cross societies in this region than responding to the great needs in our communities which are created by this disaster, a disaster as devastating¹⁰ as any other that the Red Cross responds to across the world," Kalako-Williams says.

Officials criticized the world community for failing to adequately address a pandemic that was predicted decades ago.  They blamed what they called the broken promises partly on conditions imposed by donor¹¹ institutions, poor delivery systems of local governments and expensive bureaucracies among the numerous organizations that emerged to address the plague.

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

3 expectancy   

n.期望，预期，（根据概率统计求得）预期数额

参考例句：

• Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
• The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。

4 orphaned   

[计][修]孤立

参考例句：

• Orphaned children were consigned to institutions. 孤儿都打发到了福利院。
• He was orphaned at an early age. 他幼年时便成了孤儿。

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 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

7 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。

8 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

9 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。

10 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

11 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。