2006年VOA标准英语-WFP Says Improving Nutrition and Education Aids

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
13 July 2006

The World Food Program says ensuring that children start life with proper nutrition and have access to education aids development. In its first annual hunger report, the U.N. agency says educating mothers about proper nutrition can vastly improve the health and learning abilities of their children.

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A young girl leans against her mother while waiting for food to be distributed at Adele Feeding Center, 10 kms from northeast Kenyan town of Garrisa 
  
WFP Deputy Executive Director Sheila Sisulu says a WFP study of the relationship between malnutrition¹ and learning finds overwhelming evidence that a fetus² deprived of vital micro-nutrients will grow into a child, whose learning abilities have been impaired³.

She says this creates a vicious cycle, in that children of malnourished mothers with learning impairment will pass on the same problems to their children.

"It can be reversed through education, and ensuring that pregnant mothers get nutrition, because then, the children who would not be malnourished are likely to learn better, likely to stay in school longer. So, that vicious cycle can be reversed," said Sisulu.

The World Food Program reports a third of the 300 million children, who are chronically⁵ hungry are not going to school. It says these children become a drain on a country's development efforts.

Sisulu says governments must understand that an investment in good nutrition and education is an investment in development.

She describes a few success stories. She cites a study in Jamaica, which shows undernourished children scored dramatically higher on verbal fluency⁶ tests, after they were given breakfast. She says Chili⁷ reduced child malnutrition from 60 percent in 1950 to less than two percent in 2004 by applying good policies.

She says Mali also has made strides.

"Where they were able to reduce the incidence of chronic⁴ malnutrition from 46 percent to 31 was based on making information available, which was aimed at improving nutritional⁸ practices, and included breast-feeding, cures for vitamin A deficiencies, and so forth," added Sisulu. "And, it was a door-to-door campaign in villages. In those villages where this happened, they found that the malnutrition rates actually came down."

WFP has a number of practical strategies for ending hunger and improving learning. They include breast-feeding for six months, providing micro-nutrient supplements, early childhood development programs, school food and nutrition programs and health-training.

It says studies show educated women are more likely to ensure their children are properly nourished.

The World Food Program says hunger and malnutrition claim more lives than AIDS, tuberculosis⁹ and malaria¹⁰ combined. It estimates 25,000 people every day die from hunger-related diseases, and the number of hungry people around the world is growing at a rate of four to five million a year.

1 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

2 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

3 impaired   

adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Much reading has impaired his vision. 大量读书损害了他的视力。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His hearing is somewhat impaired. 他的听觉已受到一定程度的损害。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 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。

5 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

6 fluency   

n.流畅，雄辩，善辩

参考例句：

• More practice will make you speak with greater fluency.多练习就可以使你的口语更流利。
• Some young children achieve great fluency in their reading.一些孩子小小年纪阅读已经非常流畅。

7 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

8 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

9 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。

10 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。