Humanitarian Groups Call for Investment, Infrastructure to P

As drought continues in Kenya's arid¹ north, a coalition² of humanitarian³ groups is urging the east African nation to combat future shortages through infrastructure⁴ development and economic reform.
It has been months since parts of northern Kenya have seen any rainfall. Though the region is accustomed to sparse⁵ conditions, alarm is beginning to set in as humanitarian organizations brace⁶ for an impending⁷ crisis. Kenya's grain reserves are running low and no rain is expected until at least April.
The lack of water and available pasture has put millions of livestock⁸ at risk, straining the resources of the pastoralist communities that rely on them for survival. The Kenyan Red Cross has launched an appeal for more than $22 million in aid to help nearly 2 million Kenyans threatened by the drought.
But on Tuesday, a coalition of humanitarian and development organizations questioned the necessity of famine and crisis during periods of little rain. Minister for Development of Northern Kenya Mohamed Elmi called Kenya's response to the current drought "unacceptable."
"Drought is a regular and predictable event," said Elmi. "With carefully planned interventions⁹ early enough in the dry cycle, well before any signs of crisis are apparent, we know that the worst impacts of drought are entirely¹⁰ preventable.
Despite its status as one of Africa's leading agricultural nations, Kenya is no stranger to drought. A massive dry spell from 2007 through 2009 led to a spike¹¹ in food prices and threatened the country's growing economy.
But according to the Regional Learning and Advocacy Program for Dryland Communities (REGLAP) the perennial¹² threat of famine in Kenya's north is due more to historic neglect than the region's difficult conditions.
Residents of Kenya's northern provinces are some of the country's poorest. According to REGLAP, less than 10 percent of residents in Kenya's Northeastern Province have access to safe drinking water, compared with 56 percent countrywide. Roads connecting the region with more populous¹³ areas are few and far between and many are simply dirt paths through desert.
There is also chronic¹⁴ underinvestment in the region's resources. Despite containing nearly 75 percent of Kenya's livestock, the country's arid regions employ less than 10 percent of the industry's workers. The government allocates¹⁵ about one percent of its budget to the industry annually¹⁶.
REGLAP, which consists of groups such as Oxfam, Save the Children and CARE, believes that by addressing such extreme underdevelopment and underinvestment, the Kenyan government can provide resources for pastoralist communities to ride out the drought.
Meanwhile, Minister Mohamed Elmi has proposed new institutions to combat famine in its early stages and prevent serious crises. The Minister has proposed the creation of a national drought authority and fund in order to respond to drought situations without the delay of parliamentary approval.

1 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 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。

4 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。

5 sparse   

adj.稀疏的，稀稀落落的，薄的

参考例句：

• The teacher's house is in the suburb where the houses are sparse.老师的家在郊区，那里稀稀拉拉有几处房子。
• The sparse vegetation will only feed a small population of animals.稀疏的植物只够喂养少量的动物。

6 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

7 impending   

a.imminent, about to come or happen

参考例句：

• Against a background of impending famine, heavy fighting took place. 即将发生饥荒之时，严重的战乱爆发了。
• The king convoke parliament to cope with the impending danger. 国王召开国会以应付迫近眉睫的危险。

8 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

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 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

12 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

13 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

14 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。

15 allocates   

分配，分派( allocate的第三人称单数 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• The state allocates huge funds for the development of aid-agriculture industries. 国家拨出大批资金，发展支农工业。
• The value that then I create value allocates part to discuss. 于是我把价值创造的价值分配分别开来论述。

16 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。