2006年VOA标准英语-WHO Unveils Plan to Cut Child, Maternal De

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
03 May 2006

The World Health Organization has unveiled a new approach for tackling the huge problem of maternal¹ and child mortality.  Each year, WHO estimates more than half a million women die in pregnancy² or childbirth, and nearly 11 million young children die, most of preventable causes.  The worst situation is found in sub-Saharan Africa. 

------------------------------------------------

 
Mother with child at Malipur Maternity³ Home in Delhi, India
  

The World Health Organization says 90 percent of all deaths of mothers and young children occur in 60 countries.  Most are in Africa.  Some are in Southeast Asia. 

The Director of the new Partnership⁴ for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Francisco Songane, says most of these deaths go unnoticed.  "It is a problem which is very huge, but neglected,” he explained. “Those women and children are dying silently.  We need to give them a voice and we need to raise the profile." 

Dr. Songane was a former Minister of Health from Mozambique.  He says he believes the new Partnership can succeed where others have failed.   

 
A woman at Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia 
  
The Partnership is a consortium of 83 organizations composed of United Nations, international and national non-governmental agencies.  It includes financial institutions such as the World Bank; private foundations such as the Gates Foundation; and donor⁵ countries, among them Canada, the United States and United Kingdom.

Dr. Songane says each organization will coordinate⁶ its area of expertise⁷ with its partners to avoid a duplication of effort and prevent a waste of resources.  He says there are a number of success stories that the Partnership can follow.

"If we give the example of Tanzania, where they made an improvement of 24 percent reduction in child mortality by making sure that the social services are reaching the people most in need,” he cited.  “The case of Nepal: over 20 years, they improved the child health by making sure that the community activities like treatment of pneumonia⁸, like vitamin A supplementation at the community level is being done and is being done effectively." 

 
A pregnant woman is examined at Malipur Maternity Home in Delhi, India
  
Dr. Songane says recent research finds seven million of the 11.5 million child and maternal deaths could be prevented each year with proven, cost-effective interventions⁹. He says children who are immunized against killer¹⁰ diseases will not die.  He says children who get proper treatment for diarrhea and are given access to clean water will not die.  He says most women who give birth with a trained professional present will not die.

The World Health Organization says providing basic maternal care costs about $3 per person per year in low-income countries.   It says a package of 20 affordable¹¹ interventions including skilled care at birth, breastfeeding, vaccinations¹² and vitamins could save six million children's lives each year at a cost of only $25 per child.

1 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

2 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

3 maternity   

n.母性，母道，妇产科病房；adj.孕妇的，母性的

参考例句：

• Women workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay.女工产假期间工资照发。
• Trainee nurses have to work for some weeks in maternity.受训的护士必须在产科病房工作数周。

4 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。

5 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。

6 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

7 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

8 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

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 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

11 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

12 vaccinations   

n.种痘，接种( vaccination的名词复数 )；牛痘疤

参考例句：

• Vaccinations ensure one against diseases. 接种疫苗可以预防疾病。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I read some publicity about vaccinations while waiting my turn at the doctor's. 在医生那儿候诊时，我读了一些关于接种疫苗的宣传。 来自《简明英汉词典》