2007年VOA标准英语-Zimbabwe's Children Enter New Phase of Hardship

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
16 July 2007

Zimbabwean children wait for food at Masarira primary school, for some it is the only meal they will have in the day, said headteacher Zvinavashe Takabvirakare (File Photo)

The U.N. Children's Fund says the children of Zimbabwe have entered a new phase of hardship. UNICEF says millions of children are missing out on their most basic needs because of a severe drought and the dramatic deterioration¹ of Zimbabwe's economy. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.

UNICEF says the unprecedented² hardship facing Zimbabwe is biting particularly hard among the children. It says quality health care in the country's schools has all but collapsed³. It says severe drought, the worsening economy, reduced food production, and high unemployment are causing people to leave their homes.

UNICEF Emergency Programs Director Dan Toole says families are forced to cut back on the most basic daily needs.

"What we know in Zimbabwe is that malnutrition⁴ is growing rather radically⁵. Twenty percent of the population currently needs food assistance and that food assistance is quite hard to get in," said Toole. "We expect that number to double in the next six months. There is a shortage of medicines. There is a shortage of doctors and nurses. And, thus, the health care system has been devastated⁶, with 50 percent of all health-care positions now vacant."

Official statistics show inflation in Zimbabwe has soared to more than 4,500 percent and the unemployment rate is 70 percent. Price controls have resulted in shortages of the most basic commodities, such as sugar, salt, meat, and flour.

Another problem is HIV/AIDS. UNICEF's Dan Toole says just six percent of children in need of anti-retroviral drugs have access to them. He says UNICEF has received virtually no money to carry out its ongoing⁷ HIV prevention programs.

Toole says many of the country's more than 1.5 million orphans⁸ have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS and some are also infected with the virus.

"It is likely children who are infected by HIV/AIDS and who are also orphans are likely to die with no access to anti-retrovirals," he added. "The second reason I think HIV orphans are the most vulnerable and indeed are potentially likely to die is that they are indeed the most vulnerable. They do not have a parental⁹ support mechanism¹⁰. They do not have necessarily the community support and with 4,500 percent inflation and unemployment, even their alternate caretakers are absent."

UNICEF reports Africa is the continent with most of the world's so-called forgotten emergencies. These are crises that do not attract much public attention and, are chronically¹¹ under-funded.

These countries include Southern Sudan, Chad, the Ivory Coast, Central African Republic and now Pakistan, with the recent floods.

UNICEF also includes Iraq within this list. It notes Iraq gets a lot of political attention. But, when it comes to humanitarian¹² needs, it says Iraq is forgotten. To date, UNICEF says it has received no money from international donors¹³ with which to carry out its life-saving programs for children and women.

1 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

2 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

5 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

6 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。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

9 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

10 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

11 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

12 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。

13 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》