VOA常速英语2007-London's Maternal Conference Ends on Hopeful Not

By Tendai Maphosa
London
20 October 2007

The three-day Women Deliver conference, which focused on maternal¹ and infant mortality, ended Saturday in London. As Tendai Maphosa reports, the organizers and delegates hope it will give new momentum² to efforts to reduce pregnancy³ and birth-related deaths.
 
The London conference was held on the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Safe Motherhood Initiative in Kenya.

But since then, more than 500,000 women worldwide have died annually⁴ from pregnancy and birth-related complications.

As the conference opened, Jill Sheffield of Family Care International, a non-governmental organization, said progress has been slow.

At conference end, she was more upbeat, recognizing a political will she said was not there before.

"This was a political meeting," she said.  "We have governments ready to invest in making that work, we have ministers of finance, planning, local government and health who were here. There is a nucleus⁵ from each of 32 countries who came here to work together and go home to work together. And those 32 countries are very high maternal mortality countries."

The majority of maternal deaths occur in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. 

Dr. Pius Okong is an obstetrician from Uganda. He explained that while the numbers are high in sub-Saharan Africa, maternal mortality is not given the priority it deserves. He said women frequently die in remote parts of the country and their deaths are regarded as due to natural causes.

Dr. Okong added that while epidemics⁶ such as cholera⁷ or ebola provoke an immediate⁸ response, maternal mortality does not carry the same weight. Okong said governments and NGOs that are motivated will make the difference. 

"If the leaders from Africa who have come here catch the vision, they are passionate⁹ about going back to do something then they will do something," he said.  "If the people who have certain types of resources whether its technology whether it is money whether its advocacy to help the people in Africa they will make a difference."

The conference took place amid concerns that Millennium¹⁰ Development Goal Five, which aims to improve maternal health, may not be achieved. The United Nations goal is to reduce maternal mortality by 75 percent between 1990 and 2015.
 
Family care International's Sheffield says even if the goal is not met, it is possible to get close if everyone works hard enough.

"We might not get quite there, we are starting way far behind, but part of the strength of my feeling about this is the recognition that those other Millennium Development Goals are not going to be as successful if we don't reach number five," she added.  "Women are absolutely at the heart of our families and our communities, they are also at the heart of the Millennium Development Goals."

Sheffield said the example of Honduras - where the government succeeded in reducing maternal mortality by forty percent - is proof that political will can tip the balance.

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 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

3 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。

4 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

5 nucleus   

n.核，核心，原子核

参考例句：

• These young people formed the nucleus of the club.这些年轻人成了俱乐部的核心。
• These councils would form the nucleus of a future regime.这些委员会将成为一个未来政权的核心。

6 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

7 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

8 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。

9 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

10 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。