2006年VOA标准英语-Health Conditions Deteriorate in Eastern Chad

By Phuong Tran
Dakar
11 December 2006

Experts fear health conditions will worsen dramatically in eastern Chad,

A girl stands near a straw hut in a refugee camp, near Goz Beida, Chad 19 April 2006

where fighting has been intense between rebels and government forces. Humanitarian¹ groups recently pulled medical staff out, leaving locals and refugees from Sudan's Darfur conflict, with little access to care. Phuong Tran reports from VOA's Dakar bureau.

The health of many Sudanese refugees and Chadians displaced by fighting is worsening, according to Giuseppe Annunziata with the Geneva-based World Health Organization.

"There are problems in accessibility to refugee camps," said Annunziata. "We are not receiving updates. Security is hampering² access. From several sources, we are all in consensus³ that the situation can be considered a crisis."

Over the past year, violence and fighting in western Sudan forced hundreds-of-thousands of Sudanese refugees to flee into eastern Chad. Twelve refugee camps line the Sudanese-Chadian border.

More recent clashes between rebel and Chadian government forces have displaced nearly 70,000 Chadians, according to the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR.

The rebels seek to topple the Idriss Déby government, which they accuse of committing widespread human rights abuses.

The World Health Organization has pulled out most of its international staff in eastern Chad, leaving just three international staff and six local staff in its main Abéché office.

One of its medical officers, Annunziata, says that poor living and sanitary⁴ conditions make displaced Chadians and refugees vulnerable to water-borne diseases and acute respiratory infections.

Groups are still providing medical assistance in the region, including Doctors Without Borders and some U.N. agencies, but these organizations have significantly cut back their health services.

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 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。

3 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

4 sanitary   

adj.卫生方面的，卫生的，清洁的，卫生的

参考例句：

• It's not sanitary to let flies come near food.让苍蝇接近食物是不卫生的。
• The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。