VOA标准英语2012--Former Ghana President to Lead Global Fight Against Tropical Diseases

Former Ghana President to Lead Global Fight Against Tropical Diseases

“It is truly an honor to declare my acceptance for the position just offered to me," he said.

Former President Kufuor will now be the lead advocate for controlling and eliminating so-called neglected tropical diseases around the world. These include dengue fever and other bacterial¹ infections, and parasitic² illnesses such as river blindness, sleeping sickness and guinea-worm disease.

These diseases are widely associated with poverty. They are endemic in Africa and Asia and affect more than a billion people worldwide.

"This is why it should be all hands on deck," Kufuor said.

Dr. Neeraj Mistry, director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, says he is confident President Kufuor can lead the network's drive to eliminate seven of these infections by 2020. He says that Kufuor - who has also served as a global U.N. ambassador against hunger - will apply the same energy to that goal as he did while combating hunger, illness and poverty in his native Ghana.

“What President Kufuor has done in Ghana - on access to food through school feeding programs as well as broader environmental changes in primary health care interventions³ - has led to socio-economic development," said Mistry. "That’s a proven model on how to actually advance society.” 

With President Kufuor's help, the Global Network plans to reach out to African governments to help them make fighting these debilitating⁴ diseases a priority of their national health strategies. The network also hopes that extending the reach of its mass drug distribution and vaccination⁵ programs into the remote communities of Africa will be easier with President Kufuor leading the effort.

“I feel humbled⁶ to be called the special envoy⁷, but along the way I am sure the Network will bring in other partners. It becomes like division of labor⁸ - a global effort - it shouldn’t be one man effort," he said.

Public health experts say controlling or eliminating tropical diseases is especially important because they can make people more vulnerable to other deadly infections such as HIV/AIDS. And studies have shown that debilitating, disabling tropical diseases can have a more profound social and economic impact on a developing country than even killer⁹ diseases like malaria¹⁰ or tuberculosis¹¹. 

1 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

2 parasitic   

adj.寄生的

参考例句：

• Will global warming mean the spread of tropical parasitic diseases?全球变暖是否意味着热带寄生虫病会蔓延呢？
• By definition,this way of life is parasitic.从其含义来说，这是种寄生虫的生活方式。

3 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

4 debilitating   

a.使衰弱的

参考例句：

• The debilitating disease made him too weak to work. 这个令他衰弱的病，使他弱到没有办法工作。
• You may soon leave one debilitating condition or relationship forever. 你即将永远地和这段霉运说拜拜了。

5 vaccination   

n.接种疫苗，种痘

参考例句：

• Vaccination is a preventive against smallpox.种痘是预防天花的方法。
• Doctors suggest getting a tetanus vaccination every ten years.医生建议每十年注射一次破伤风疫苗。

6 humbled   

adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低

参考例句：

• The examination results humbled him. 考试成绩挫了他的傲气。
• I am sure millions of viewers were humbled by this story. 我相信数百万观众看了这个故事后都会感到自己的渺小。

7 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

10 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。

11 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。