2006年VOA标准英语-US Senate Tackles Issue of Child Hunger

By Richard Green
Washington, DC
28 September 2006
 
watch Child Hunger report

Leaders in the worldwide humanitarian¹ community appeared before a key U.S. Senate committee in Washington recently, to discuss the various strategies to alleviate² child hunger across the globe.  They also highlighted the many challenges and obstacles that stand in the way of those efforts. 

 
A report released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization last year says nearly six million children around the world die each year due to hunger and malnutrition³.  The majority of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. 

Ann Veneman, the director of the United Nations Children's Fund, told lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee that simply providing emergency food aid to starving children is not the only solution in reversing the current trends.

 
Ann Veneman
"Healthy mothers during pregnancy⁴, good nutrition and vitamins, breast feeding, better education, effective disease control, policies that safeguard food access, access to clean water and sanitation⁵.  It has to be an integrated approach," she told the committee.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said while governments have an important role to play in the fight against child hunger, the private sector⁶ has the means to assume an even greater role.

 
Dr. Julie Gerberding
"Ability of the private sector to innovate⁷ probably exceeds even that of some of our government research enterprises, in that what this allows innovators to do is to take some risk.  It's very difficult to take risk with government dollars, but it is possible to take risks and stretch your brain and get out of the box [act outside of conventional methods] with these private sector enterprises."

James Morris, the executive director of the United Nations World Food Program, told the committee that recent natural disasters, such as the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami⁸, have placed an unforeseen burden on international relief agencies.

 
James Morris
"The World Food Program used to be 80 percent a development, prevention, mitigation moderating program,” said Mr. Morris.  “Today, we are 80 - 85 percent engaged in responding to natural disasters.  And so this limited pot of money that is available has been heavily skewed to saving lives in an immediate⁹ set of circumstances as opposed to investing in programs around the world that long term, once again, has a huge payoff."

Republican Senator Richard Lugar, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, wondered which relief agency or entity¹⁰ is ultimately responsible for implementing¹² the dozens of anti-hunger programs created by both governments and private relief groups.  Morris said the responsibility lies well beyond the international relief community.

"Ultimately, the responsibility for addressing what we're talking about is a country responsibility, and our job is to be there, to be helpful,” he said.  “Very difficult issues of capacity and resources, technical competency that the rest of the world will have to provide, but the only chance for this to be sustained and really to work is if the country where the work is being done is in charge."

 
George Ward¹³
But George Ward, the senior vice¹⁴ president for international programs for World Vision, said the responsibility lies even beyond governments.

"Who's in charge needs to be the family in need, because they know best their needs, and they are also the ones who will have to implement¹¹ solutions.  So we need to find solutions that they can adapt to and they can implement," said Ward.

The U.N. has pledged to cut in half the number of people around the globe who suffer from hunger and malnutrition by 2015. It also wants to reduce by two-thirds the number of deaths of children under five by the same year.

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 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

3 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。

4 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。

5 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。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 innovate   

v.革新，变革，创始

参考例句：

• We must innovate in order to make progress.我们必须改革以便取得进步。
• It is necessary to innovate and develop military theories.创新和发展军事理论是必要的。

8 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

11 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

12 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

13 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

14 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。