VOA标准英语2012--New UNICEF Campaign Targets Pneumonia, Diarrhea

 

New UNICEF Campaign Targets Pneumonia¹, Diarrhea

Global campaign

Prompt and effective antibiotic² treatment saved a child suffering from acute pneumonia. Not everyone is so lucky. In many poor regions of Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, pneumonia and diarrhea together account for one third of the deaths among children under five.

With the new report, UNICEF officials hope to launch a new global campaign against pneumonia and diarrhea. The campaign will focus on these two preventable illnesses as part of a broader plan to improve the welfare of children worldwide.

Killer³ infections

UNICEF's Holly⁴ Newby says the two killer infections have not previously⁵ received the public attention they deserve.

“Because these are such major killers⁶ of children we have to tackle these in a serious way. It's important to bear one point in mind though, and that is unlike some of the other diseases that have risen to prominence⁷, diarrhea and pneumonia are quite complicated to deal with,” she explained.

The report notes that only one third of children diagnosed with pneumonia receive antibiotics⁸. As a result, the respiratory infection kills a child somewhere in the world every minute.

“The price of inaction is staggering,” said Dr. Orin Levine, executive director of the International Vaccine⁹ Access Center (IVAC), Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health.

With UNICEF support, he is leading a campaign to distribute pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines¹⁰, which Levine says can protect children throughout the developing world against pneumonia and diarrhoea. “For us the work is only just begun so what we are doing is racing¹¹ to try and make sure that the vaccine gets out to the children who need it the most as quickly as it can," he explained. "We hope that by 2015 as many as 50 million kids could be immunized with this vaccine.”

Challenges

UNICEF officials say the campaign will be a complex challenge.

"Now is the time to put pneumonia and diarrhea back on the agenda in a serious way," Newby stated.

“One of the issues with pneumococcus is there are 90 different strains of the bacteria," added Levine.

According to the UNICEF report, prevention and treatment of the two infections will involve similar strategies: increasing the distribution of vaccines and antibiotics, encouraging breastfeeding, expanding access to safe drinking water and sanitation¹², and disseminating¹³ oral rehydration salts to children with diarrhea. 

1 pneumonia   

n.肺炎

参考例句：

• Cage was struck with pneumonia in her youth.凯奇年轻时得过肺炎。
• Pneumonia carried him off last week.肺炎上星期夺去了他的生命。

2 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

3 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。

4 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

7 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

8 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

9 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

10 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

11 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

12 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

13 disseminating   

散布，传播( disseminate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our comrades in propaganda work have the task of disseminating Marxism. 我们作宣传工作的同志有一个宣传马克思主义的任务。
• Disseminating indecent photographs on the internet a distasteful act. 在因特网上发布不雅照片是卑劣的行径。