VOA常速英语2008年-Medical Experts Decry Western Recruitment of Af

By Tendai Maphosa
London
22 February 2008

A team of international disease experts has accused rich nations of committing a crime by luring¹ African health professionals away from their home countries where their services are badly needed.  From London, Tendai Maphosa has more in this report for VOA.

An article published by the British medical journal The Lancet, says recruitment agencies in rich countries, which actively² recruit health workers in Africa, are guilty of what the authors of the report call an "international crime."

The experts accuse countries, such as Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Britain of sustaining their relatively³ high physician-to-population ratio by recruiting medical graduates from developing regions, including countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Elly Katabira of Makerere University is one of the authors of the article. He told VOA that criminalization may be difficult but the idea is to go beyond the well-worn debate of the brain drain.

"What we are trying to say is that at least the developed countries are in better position to provide solutions for the brain drain than the individual countries," he said.  "Certainly even countries within Africa they have their responsibilities, they have to provide incentives⁴ for people to stay."

Dr. Katabira suggests that Western donor⁵ countries could help by making their aid conditional⁶ on some of it being used to help upgrade medical infrastructure⁷ in Africa.

The experts charge that as a result of the recruitment of health professionals, over half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa do not meet the minimum acceptable physician- to-population ratio of one per 5,000, the World Health Organization's Health for All standard. The article reveals that an estimated 13,000 doctors trained in sub-Saharan Africa are practicing in Australia, Canada, Britain and the United States.
 
The article names Western recruitment agencies that have set up offices in South Africa to facilitate recruitment. It says recruitment strategies include advertising⁸ in national newspapers and journals, text-messaging to health workers, personal e-mails and Internet sites, and recruitment workshops. Offers of employment are accompanied by legal assistance with immigration, guaranteed earnings⁹, and moving expenses.

Nurses, pharmacists, and other health workers are systematically¹⁰ recruited from a region struggling with the greatest burden of infectious and chronic¹¹ illness and HIV/AIDS. The article says that in some African countries, the exodus¹² of health workers to rich economies now exceeds the number of graduates emerging from medical schools.

Abby Smith, a spokesperson for the British Medical Association said criminalization could be a problem.  But she agrees with Dr. Katabira that more needs to be done to keep health personnel in their own countries.

"I think the problem has to be addressed at its roots rather than at what appears to be a symptom," she said.  "We need to concentrate on why people are leaving the countries and make sure that we are addressing the core problem in terms of the push and pull factors."

Smith said if better working conditions, pay and further training are provided in sub-Saharan African then there would be nothing to attract health professionals to developed countries.

1 luring   

吸引，引诱（lure的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Cheese is very good for luring a mouse into a trap. 奶酪是引诱老鼠上钩的极好的东西。
• Her training warned her of peril and of the wrong, subtle, mysterious, luring. 她的教养警告她：有危险，要出错儿，这是微妙、神秘而又诱人的。

2 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

5 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

6 conditional   

adj.条件的，带有条件的

参考例句：

• My agreement is conditional on your help.你肯帮助我才同意。
• There are two forms of most-favored-nation treatment:conditional and unconditional.最惠国待遇有两种形式:有条件的和无条件的。

7 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

10 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

11 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

12 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。