2007年VOA标准英语-Cameroon to Distribute AIDS Medication for Free

By Naomi Schwarz
Dakar
01 May 2007

Starting Tuesday, Cameroon will offer free anti-retroviral drug treatment to all eligible¹ HIV-positive people in the country. The program, funded by the government and various external groups, aims to reach as many as 50,000 people.  Naomi Schwarz has more on the story from VOA's regional bureau in Dakar.

A baby sleeps in her mother's arms next to the anti-AIDS drug nevirapine

Cameroon's HIV and AIDS-infected patients received good news last week. Government officials announced that starting May 1, the anti-retroviral drugs necessary to keep the virus in check would be offered to eligible patients free of charge.

Isaac Tita, the coordinator² of a regional network of infected persons, says he was not expecting the announcement.

"All I was expecting the minister to say was actually to tell us if they are going to extend those treatment centers, meeting people where they are. So they can actually get their treatment where they are located," he said.

Tita says he worries that the program, which will cost upward of  $11 million, might be promising³ too much.

"I think that they are [starting] something that is so ambitious, which is very, very ambitious, and people are going to be expecting very highly and then you will not meet up with them," he added.

A member of a Cameroonian non-governmental organization that focuses on ethics⁴ and AIDS, Calice Talom, says he thinks the program is a good first step, but will not help all the people who need it the most.

Talom says if we are going to give free drugs to people, it is equally important that follow-up exams do not cost anything, because many cannot afford to pay for them.

The United Nations says there are more than 500,000 people living with HIV or AIDS in Cameroon, including more than 40,000 children. The program aims to reach as many as 50,000 of those people.

This program is the newest step in the government's attempt to make AIDS treatment available to everyone.

In 2001, AIDS drugs cost a patient more than $1,200 a month in Cameroon. That cost had been reduced already to about $14 per month.

The Ministry⁵ of Health in Cameroon is also working to make medical treatment for other diseases more affordable⁶.

Talom says the Ministry of Health has also recently announced a new program to make malaria⁷ treatment affordable in the country. He says, under the new program, full malaria treatment will cost only about $1.40.

1 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

2 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

3 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

4 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

7 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。