VOA常速英语2007年-Aid Workers: Climate Change, Rising Prices Thre

By Kari Barber
Dakar
16 November 2007

Humanitarian¹ officials warn that climate change along with higher food prices and growing populations are threatening food supplies in Africa. World Food Program Executive Director Josette Sheeran says that practical solutions need to found before the situation gets worse. Kari Barber has more from Senegal's capital, Dakar, where Sheeran met with officials and aid workers.

Sheeran says flooding caused by severe weather is just one of the factors putting more people at risk of not having enough food.

Extreme weather conditions forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in West and Central Africa this year. She says populations are increasing in areas where food is already scarce and food prices are on the rise.

"These kind of triple factors are really creating a situation where I feel we have to get ahead of the challenge," she said.

Food costs in some countries have sparked violent protests. Mauritania's president has ordered food to be stockpiled to stabilize² prices. Protesters angry over the rising cost of living have torched stores in recent demonstrations³.

Sheeran says those responsible for making sure food supplies are steady - governments and international aid organizations - need to look for concrete ways for people to adapt.

She says one example of a project that has worked has been planting trees in Mali. This has slowed or halted the advancing Sahara desert from taking over farmland. She says in a matter of time, those trees can then be used for wood or sold for income by the people living in the area.

Sheeran says there needs to be more focus and investment in measures to prevent food shortages before they start.

"We now know nine months ahead if we have a drought situation that will cause severe hunger in the Sahel," she said. "This is very important, it allows us to get ahead of that curve."

The head of the food aid agency says the percentage of people in the world who do not have enough food is actually down and new agricultural technology is helping⁴ in the battle against hunger.

Now, she says, there needs to be opportunities for African countries to take advantage of these developments.

"For the first time in human history we have the science and the technology and know-how⁵ to produce enough food," she said. "This is a great opportunity for the farmers in Africa to take part in producing in a major way the food supplies, not only for their own countries, but also to help with the world's supply."

According to the U.N., the Sahel, which cuts across the continent east to west below the Sahara desert, has the highest proportion of acutely malnourished children in the world. The U.N. says more than 300,000 children in West Africa die each year from hunger.

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 stabilize   

vt.（使）稳定，使稳固，使稳定平衡；vi.稳定

参考例句：

• They are eager to stabilize currencies.他们急于稳定货币。
• His blood pressure tended to stabilize.他的血压趋向稳定。

3 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

4 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

5 know-how   

n.知识；技术；诀窍

参考例句：

• He hasn't got the know-how to run a farm.他没有经营农场的专业知识。
• I don't have much know-how about engines.发动机方面的技术知识我知之甚少。