VOA常速英语2007-UN Seeks Better Solutions to Disaster Situations

By Phillip Wellman
Dakar
12 October 2007

Officials at the United Nations say they would like to review disaster management policy in West Africa, where recent floods have killed hundreds and left hundreds of thousands displaced. They say the floods have shown more focus should be put on long-term solutions rather than just quick fixes. One idea is using micro-credit to help avert¹ future problems. Phillip Wellman reports from our West Africa bureau in Dakar.

The U.N.'s Office for the Coordination² of Humanitarian³ Affairs (OCHA) says it is trying to organize a meeting between governments, non-governmental organizations and charitable donors⁴ to discuss the lasting⁵ impact of the floods and agree on ways to improve disaster management in the future.

Heavy rains fell throughout West Africa in late August and mid-September, causing widespread flooding that destroyed houses and roads, washed away cattle and damaged vast areas of farmland.

The head of OCHA in West Africa, Herve Lubovic de Lys, says the United Nations has allocated⁶ nearly $4 million in emergency relief aid to provide immediate⁷ necessities such as food, water and sanitation⁸ to affected⁹ areas. But he says these short-term solutions are not enough to restore lost livelihoods¹⁰.

"If we really want to give this population the capacity to recover from the crisis, we should not only think about the non-food items and the food items, we should also think about tools that could help the people," he said.

Lubovic de Lys says issuing micro-credit loans could help thousands in West Africa regain¹¹ and sustain their lost livelihoods. He says loans for less than $100 could help start or expand a business in most of the areas affected by flooding. He adds that the income from these businesses could provide better food, housing, health care and education for entire families.

Lubovic de Lys says micro-credit is just one of the issues that will likely be discussed during the OCHA-sponsored regional meeting that should take place before the end of the year. He says monitoring climate change is another.

"If climate change is considered a source of this weather instability, then what can we do to better monitor climate change in the future? As we speak the networking of the various weather stations across the region is not as good as it could be," he added.  "So on the response side we can talk about micro-credit as a new idea and on the preparing side we can talk about the stronger networking of all the weather stations across the region."

International development specialist at the British-based Royal Institute of International Affairs, Brian Thomson, also believes governments and donors should begin thinking in the long term.

But he says because the situation will vary from country to country, assistance should be tailored to specific requirements. He says issuing micro-credit may not be useful in all cases.

"It may not be effective if there are other constraints¹² on, for example, agricultural producers," he said.  "In some cases, the infrastructure¹³ has been affected by the flooding and so the priority should be to restore the infrastructure so that the crops can be marketed."

Thomson says micro-credit could also cause more problems if it is not correctly administered.

"One of the issues of course with micro-credit is that it needs to be properly managed and it does not make sense if it is going to result in un-payable debts," he added.

The United Nations and some non-government organizations recently launched a $10 million appeal to assist flood victims in Ghana, one of the countries most devastated¹⁴ from flooding with over 300,000 people affected. They say in total, 800,000 people in 14 West African countries have been affected by the floods.

1 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

2 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

3 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。

4 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

6 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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。

10 livelihoods   

生计，谋生之道( livelihood的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者，他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小，他们的传统生计受到了威胁。

11 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

12 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

13 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

14 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。