2007年VOA标准英语-Indonesia Combats Widespread Childhood Anemia

By Chad Bouchard
Jakarta
11 June 2007

An Indonesian public health foundation is waging an anti-anemia¹ campaign in Jakarta, where some schools have reported more than half their students are anemic. As Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta, medicine and nutritional³ education is making a small dent² in this global epidemic⁴.

Health officials estimate that two billion people, nearly a third of the world's population, suffer from anemia.

Anemia is a major factor in maternal⁵ and infant deaths during childbirth, and the World Health Organization estimates that more than half of the pregnant women in developing countries are anemic.

Africa and Asia are hit hardest by anemia. Indonesia is one country that has been struggling to come to grips with the problem.

Staff members with Indonesia's Kusuma Buana Foundation test hemoglobin levels of Jakarta schoolchildren

Anemic people have low levels of hemoglobin, the part of the blood that carries oxygen throughout the body to feed muscles, organs, and the brain.

Anemia delays development and hampers⁶ children's chances of succeeding at higher levels of education. Families are often unaware⁷ that their kids are anemic.

At the at the Kebon Manggis Matraman School in east Jakarta, students reluctantly line up for a pin-prick blood test.

A foundation working together with the German pharmaceutical⁸ company Merck is monitoring the iron levels of more than 50,000 Jakarta elementary students, and providing supplements to those who need them.

Doctor Pudji Rahardjo, coordinator⁹ for one of the Kusuma Buana foundation's clinics, describes the testing.

"We mix the blood sample with a reagent here, and then we check the blood level. And then you can get the result," the doctor explained.

Rahardjo says the shortage of hemoglobin makes sufferers feel lethargic¹⁰ and leaves them vulnerable to life-threatening infections and other disorders¹².

She says before the treatment, the anemic students had very short attention spans and would often fall asleep in class.

"Anemic child looks pale, the skin is pale, and they don't have the spirit of the rest of the children. Usually they get lower grades than their friends. That is the symptoms of anemia," she said.

Three months ago, half of the 162 students at the school tested positive for anemia.

Since then, the students have received iron and B-vitamin supplements two times a week.

Now, all but 11 of the students are back to normal health.

Nurianti, one of the school's teachers, says she noticed a change after the students were given just two doses of the supplements.

Nurianti says the students have more enthusiasm for learning, becoming more clever and more active.

She says their ability to perform language activities increases immediately, and their mathematics scores slowly catch up.

The director of health care at the foundation, Adi Sasongko, says the key to getting nutritional anemia under control is education.

Sasongko says the challenges are slightly different depending on the location.

Jakarta elementary school student sits down to an iron and vitamin-rich meal as part of a weekly nutrition education program

In most of the country, he says, the challenge is eating habits. White rice or instant noodles are a regular staple¹³ of the Jakarta diet, for example, but they contain mostly empty calories.

Sasongko says in Indonesia, sources of iron such as fish and green vegetables are widely available. But children do not like them and their parents do not push the children because they are not aware of what is at stake.

In the Seribu islands off the coast of Jakarta, Sasongko says, people eat plenty of fish and vegetables. But poor hygiene¹⁴ leaves them vulnerable to parasites¹⁵ like hookworm, which cause anemia by leaching¹⁶ nutrients¹⁷ from the body.

In both cases, good health education can prevent the disorder¹¹ before it takes hold, reducing or eliminating the need for supplements or expensive treatments.

Officials with the World Health Organization say when anemia is left untreated in children or adults, it depresses the immune system and can result in life-threatening infections.

Doctor Neelam Dhingra is the coordinator for blood transfusion¹⁸ safety with the WHO in Geneva. She says anemia testing is a critical way to head off serious conditions before patients become so ill that they need a transfusion.

"It's difficult to say whether it can be wiped out entirely¹⁹ or not, but it can be subsequently reduced with the wide-scale education of people - you know, improving dietary habits, And anemia, as I've said, is not a disease, it's a symptom, but the symptoms are very vague," the doctor said. "So you know a person who is feeling very tired and feeling lethargic and looks pale has to be diagnosed as anemia, and anemia is highly prevalent so, you know, it is very important that it is timely diagnosed and treated."

Activists²⁰ in Jakarta admit the anti-anemia campaign here is small, reaching just 200 of the more than 3,000 elementary schools in the city. But the campaigners are hoping the program will expand, and become a model for other health organizations.

1 anemia   

n.贫血，贫血症

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。
• I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.我曾因贫血吃补铁药片。

2 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

3 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

4 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

5 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。

6 hampers   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Prejudice sometimes hampers a person from doing the right thing. 有时候，偏见会妨碍人正确行事。
• This behavior is the opposite of modeless feedback, and it hampers flow. 这个行为有悖于非模态的反馈，它阻碍了流。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

7 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

8 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

9 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？

10 lethargic   

adj.昏睡的，懒洋洋的

参考例句：

• He felt too miserable and lethargic to get dressed.他心情低落无精打采，完全没有心思穿衣整装。
• The hot weather made me feel lethargic.炎热的天气使我昏昏欲睡。

11 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

12 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

14 hygiene   

n.健康法，卫生学 （a.hygienic）

参考例句：

• Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
• He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。

15 parasites   

寄生物( parasite的名词复数 )； 靠他人为生的人； 诸虫

参考例句：

• These symptoms may be referable to virus infection rather than parasites. 这些症状也许是由病毒感染引起的，而与寄生虫无关。
• Kangaroos harbor a vast range of parasites. 袋鼠身上有各种各样的寄生虫。

16 leaching   

n.滤取，滤去v.（将化学品、矿物质等）过滤( leach的现在分词 )；（液体）过滤，滤去

参考例句：

• The lack of humus and the excessive leaching make this soil almost useless for agricultural purpose. 缺少腐殖质和过度淋滤使这种土壤对农业几乎无用。 来自辞典例句
• The deep oxidation and groundwater leaching solubilizes much of the loosely bound uranium. 深部氧化和地下水淋蚀使大部分固定得比较松散的铀溶解。 来自辞典例句

17 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 transfusion   

n.输血，输液

参考例句：

• She soon came to her senses after a blood transfusion.输血后不久她就苏醒了。
• The doctor kept him alive by a blood transfusion.医生靠输血使他仍然活着。

19 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

20 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》