VOA常速英语2008年-First-Ever World Malaria Day Kicks Off April 25

By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
25 April 2008

World Malaria¹ Day will be celebrated² for the first time April 25. It aims to focus public attention on a disease which every year kills more than one million people, most of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization says building up malaria control programs could save many lives. Lisa Schlein reports from WHO headquarters in Geneva.

Malaria is a global public health problem. The World Health Organization says up to one-half billion people contract malaria every year. While most of these cases are in developing tropical countries, the WHO says developed countries should not be complacent³.

It says about 30,000 visitors to tropical countries are infected annually⁴. And the WHO warns climate change will probably spread the disease to areas that currently are not affected⁵.

A spokeswoman for the WHO's Roll Back Malaria Program, Katie Gates, says malaria breeds poverty and underdevelopment in vast regions of the world. And this, she says, contributes to issues of global concern such as illegal migration⁶ and security.

She says studies show that Africa alone loses $12 billion a year in economic growth.

"Health budgets in African countries contribute a huge chunk⁷ of their limited resources to fighting malaria," she said. "It also causes people to miss work... in agriculture, in manufacturing, in mining. It causes people to go off work, lowers productivity in these countries, contributes to school children missing out on large portions of their education."

The World Health Organization says malaria is preventable and treatable. It says available tools are able to make a big difference in controlling the disease.

For instance, Gates tells VOA the mass distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets and the use of artemisinin-based combination treatments are having a dramatic impact in reducing death and the incidence of malaria in a number of endemic countries, such as Rwanda and Ethiopia.

"And, that is two shining examples that if there is the commitment, the coordination⁸ that malaria interventions⁹ get to populations on a large-scale, that we can see significant drops in both the mortality and morbidity¹⁰ of malaria," she said.

The World Health Organization says investing in malaria treatments pays off. It says $2.2 billion a year for the next five years would save an additional 2.5 million lives. It says the money would prevent an additional 430 million malaria cases and generate $20 billion more in annual Gross Domestic Product in five years.

1 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。

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

4 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

7 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

8 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

9 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

10 morbidity   

n.病态；不健全；发病；发病率

参考例句：

• MC's also significantly reduce the morbidity and mortality induced by honeybee venom. 肥大细胞同样也能显著降低蜜蜂毒液诱发疾病的发病率和死亡率。 来自互联网
• The result shows that incidence of myopia morbidity is 44.84%. 结果表明：近视眼的发病率为44.84%。 来自互联网