VOA标准英语2013--Africa's First Ladies Promote Women's, Children's Health

 

Africa's First Ladies Promote Women's, Children's Health

The risk of death from childbirth is still very real for women in countries throughout Africa. Whether their children will reach adulthood¹ is another worry.

The first ladies of Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, Niger and Namibia -- and many more African officials -- are voicing their concerns for the health and welfare of the women and children in their countries. They are meeting in Los Angeles, at the second African First Ladies Health Summit to talk about issues including infant and maternal² mortality, the transfer of HIV AIDS from mother to child and problems with sanitation³.

The first lady of Guinea, Djené Kaba Condé, says she is in the United States to seek help because children in Guinea die prematurely⁴, due to a lack of incubators for babies.

Annette Richardson with the United Nations office of Partnerships⁵ praised the first ladies for their efforts to improve the lives of women and children in their countries, but she says there still is more work to be done.

“When it comes to having an impact on health in Africa you’re all grassroots activists⁶ for Africa’s mothers and babies. As first ladies of your respective countries you have the influence and the networks that cannot be duplicated by outside organizations," Richardson said. "You’re the ones who are on the front lines to have the ability to see the effects of these pressing issues and are best suited to mobilize local resources.”

The Republic of Congo's Social Affairs Minister, Emilienne Raoul, says poverty is the root cause of many problems in Africa.

She says as a result, many people do not have access to health care and education, but if they work together, with international solidarity⁷ and private partnerships, she believes they can eliminate the problems caused by poverty.

Some of these ladies say they hope there will be a way to measure progress in improving the lives of women and children in Africa so that the next time they meet, they will know what works and what needs improvement. 

1 adulthood   

n.成年，成人期

参考例句：

• Some infantile actions survive into adulthood.某些婴儿期的行为一直保持到成年期。
• Few people nowadays are able to maintain friendships into adulthood.如今很少有人能将友谊维持到成年。

2 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。

3 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。

4 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

5 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。