VOA标准英语2012--Aid Agencies Seek a Billion Dollars for Sahel Relief

Aid Agencies Seek a Billion Dollars for Sahel Relief

 

Humanitarian¹ agencies say at least one billion dollars is needed to prevent many people from going hungry in Africa’s Sahel region. They say about 15 million people are affected² by a deepening food crisis.

The Sahel stretches across nearly a dozen countries in the northern part of Africa, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. Warnings about a food crisis in some of the western and central Sahel countries have been ongoing³. However, funding for aid efforts has fallen far short of appeals.

The United Nations has appealed for more than $700 million dollars, but so far has received less than half. Also a coalition⁴ of four NGOs is requesting $250 million for Sahel aid efforts. Only about $52 million has been raised.

World Vision, Action Against Hunger, Save the Children and Oxfam are making the joint⁵ funding request. Chris Webster is with World Vision’s Global Rapid Response Team and is based in Niger.

“You have a food crisis running across the whole of the Sahel region. It’s affecting a reported 15 million people. Around one million children are severely⁶ malnourished. The situation is serious,” he said.

And getting worse

Despite the scope of the crisis, Webster says it has not received the same media attention that the drought and famine in East Africa did.

“Thankfully, so far, we’re not seeing the suffering that we’ve seen in the east of Africa. But what we are aware of is that people in five weeks’ time are going to be starving. That’s a fact from the indicators⁷ that we’re looking at. What we’re trying to do here in West Africa is intervene before it reaches that point. So there’s an imperative⁸ to respond early,” he said.

Webster describes the food crisis as complex, with drought being just one of the factors.

Specifically this year we’ve seen failed rains. We often get rains, but they’re often too short and at the wrong times. So we’re not able to see the harvests that we need. Within the region we’ve got some complex political issues as well and governance and conflict in Mali, which has led to some 200,000 people to leave their homes. So the combination of that and the instability that that causes on top of the lack of food.

The conflict in northern Mali is forcing civilians⁹ to seek safety in neighboring countries. Most have gone to Mauritania. Webster said the refugees are bearing the brunt of both the food crisis and conflict.

“People are arriving there with nothing. They’re living in camps, which are just sheets on sticks with a few pots and pans. And there’s a fierce wind blowing across this desert. The heat is unbearable¹⁰. And so there we’re able to see the extent of that suffering already playing out in those refugee camps. Now, I think what we’re seeing there are the kind of things we’re going to be seeing more and more in some of these communities that are at risk,” he said.

The humanitarian NGO coalition said the needed funding is not only for emergency food aid, healthcare and shelter. They say the money would also be spent to boost community resilience, such as livelihood¹¹ development and agricultural reforms. Such things, they say, could help communities better withstand erratic¹² rainfall and political instability.

The NGOs are calling on G8 leaders to consider the Sahel crisis at their summit next month.

1 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。

2 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。

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 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。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

7 indicators   

（仪器上显示温度、压力、耗油量等的）指针( indicator的名词复数 )； 指示物； （车辆上的）转弯指示灯； 指示信号

参考例句：

• The economic indicators are better than expected. 经济指标比预期的好。
• It is still difficult to develop indicators for many concepts used in social science. 为社会科学领域的许多概念确立一个指标仍然很难。

8 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

9 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

10 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

11 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

12 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。