VOA标准英语2009年-Pregnancy in Sierra Leone - a 'Ticket to D

By Selah Hennessy
London
22 September 2009

Maternal¹ deaths in Sierra Leone are a human-rights emergency, says a new report from Amnesty International, which cites that one in eight women risks dying during pregnancy² in the West African country. World leaders are preparing to meet Wednesday to discuss increased funding for health care in the developing world.

 
Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International, speaks at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service (File)
Speaking with VOA by phone from Sierra Leone, Amnesty International Secretary General Irene Khan says pregnancy and childbirth are a ticket to death for many women in the country.

She says women are unable to access lifesaving treatment because they are too poor to pay for it or simply because no health-care facilities are available.

Khan says changes are needed across the board.

"So, there is something for the donors⁴ to do - Sierra Leone needs more resources," she said. "There is something for the government to do - it has promised free and better health care, it has to deliver on that. And there is, of course, something for the communities to do - and that is to make sure that women who need healthcare receive it."

Irene Khan says women have low social status in many rural areas of Sierra Leone and this is a major part of the problem.

"This is a country where there is severe discrimination against women. Under customary law in rural areas women are treated as minors⁵, like children, and are not allowed to make the decisions about whether or not they should have children, whether they should have access to contraception, whether they should have access to health care - those decisions are not made by women. And therefore improving the status of women is going to be a very important part of tackling maternal mortality in Sierra Leone."

 
Dudu Ndwandwe, 18, rests with her newly-born baby girl at the Edendale Hospital near Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (File)
 
Khan says increased funding from donor³ governments is crucial, but she says the money must be monitored to ensure proper use.

"A lot of the money is mismanaged, siphoned off into corruption⁶ and bribery," she said. "Money is not being used in a proper way to build up health systems and to build them up in places where women can access it. Not in the capital city, but in distant villages and rural areas and districts, health facilities have to be built up and donors can make sure that that happens."

Sierra Leone suffers from one of the highest maternal death rates in the world. During the next few weeks Amnesty International will tour the country in a caravan⁷, raising awareness⁸ of the issue and demanding improved health services from the government.

World leaders meet in New York this week and increased funding for health care in developing countries is on the agenda. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to announce a series of new finance packages with particular focus on infant and maternal health.

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 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。

4 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》

5 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 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。

8 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。