VOA标准英语2009年-Maternal Mortality in Sierra Leone is 'Hum

By Fid Thompson
Dakar
22 September 2009

The human rights group Amnesty International says the maternal¹ health situation in Sierra Leone amounts to a human rights abuse. The small West African nation has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world and is in desperate need of investment in healthcare for mothers.

One in eight women risk dying from pregnancy² or childbirth in Sierra Leone, according to a new report released today by Amnesty International.

 
Irene Khan (file photo)
The group's Secretary General, Irene Khan, says this is a human rights emergency.

"In this country, one in eight women will die from pregnancy or childbirth-related reasons," said Khan. "These deaths are totally needless. They are preventable not inevitable³."

The report says many women die before they reach a hospital because they are too poor to pay for health services or because they are too far from a clinic with adequate gynecological services. Less than one in five births occur in hospital in Sierra Leone, despite government promises to provide pregnant women with free healthcare.

Khan says these conditions deprive women of their right to life and health.

"Maternal deaths is a human rights issue," she said. "It is a human rights scandal because it is a violation⁴ of a woman's right to life, a woman's right to health, a woman's right to be treated equally. Because underlying⁵ this lack of medical facilities for women is discrimination and exclusion⁶ of women. Their voices are not heard. They are simply ignored, neglected and maltreated."

Khan says Sierra Leone is in need of funding to build the necessary health service infrastructure⁷ to save women's lives.

The small West African country is slowly rebuilding after a brutal⁸ civil war that displaced one-third of the population and killed tens of thousands.

But according to Khan it is not simply an issue of money. She says corruption⁹ is wasting limited resources and women's low social status affects their access to life-saving healthcare.

The U.N. General Assembly will meet tomorrow in New York. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to announce a series of funding packages for healthcare in the developing world.

Amnesty International hopes their campaign will highlight the urgency of Sierra Leone's maternal health situation. A caravan¹⁰ with theater performances, music and films will tour the country during the next few weeks, provoking debate on maternal health among Sierra Leoneans.  

1 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。

2 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

3 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

6 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

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 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

9 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

10 caravan   

n.大蓬车；活动房屋

参考例句：

• The community adviser gave us a caravan to live in.社区顾问给了我们一间活动住房栖身。
• Geoff connected the caravan to the car.杰弗把旅行用的住屋拖车挂在汽车上。