世卫组织承诺为贫困国家提供甲流疫苗

The head of the World Health Organization urged Asian health chiefs to continue health-care reforms despite the global economic downturn. Margaret Chan（陈冯富珍） says the WHO is working to give poorer nations access vaccines² to fight the H1N1 flu pandemic.

Health chiefs from 35 countries in the Asia-Pacific region opened their annual meeting in Hong Kong, their first major gathering³ since the H1N1 pandemic（大流行） was declared in June.

High on the agenda for the delegates is how their countries can afford sufficient supplies of H1N1 vaccines to protect citizens, as the virus is expected to spread rapidly during the cooler season in the next few months.

The WHO（世卫组织） is concerned about poorer nations' access to the vaccine¹ and has pledged to provide limited supply. The Philippines is expected to receive an initial 100,000 doses, in a nation of 80 million people. China is relying on local vaccine manufacturers to meet demand. Singapore says it is buying one million doses from the manufacturer Glaxo Smithkline.

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan says early clinical trials show a single dose is sufficient to inoculate⁴ people from the virus.

"If confirmed, this finding will literally⁵ double the amount of vaccine available," she said. "Here is the big question: will this result in more equitable（公平） distribution of vaccines? Let me assure you: I am pursuing this opportunity from several angles."

Three billion doses of the vaccine are expected to be produced annually⁶. The United States, Britain, France, Australia and five other nations pledged to make 10 percent of their vaccine supply available to other countries in need.

H1N1 has killed more than 3,000 people worldwide since being identified earlier this year.

Chan urged the ministers to continue health care reforms despite the global economic downturn. She says the H1N1 pandemic underscores the need for greater access to public health systems, especially in poorer nations.

"Countries in this region are under strong pressure to reduce health budgets and extend user fees and co-payments," added Chan. "You are painfully aware of what this means: a further deterioration⁷ in access, equity⁸, quality and utilization⁹ of health services."

She said governments need to focus on making their health care systems more efficient and on providing basic care to all. （本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑）

1 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。

2 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。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 inoculate   

v.给...接种，给...注射疫苗

参考例句：

• A corps of doctors arrived to inoculate the recruits.一队医生来给新兵打防疫针。
• I was just meant to come out here and inoculate some wee babies.我是过来这边给小孩子们接种疫苗的。

5 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

6 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。

7 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

8 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

9 utilization   

n.利用，效用

参考例句：

• Computer has found an increasingly wide utilization in all fields.电子计算机已越来越广泛地在各个领域得到应用。
• Modern forms of agricultural utilization,have completely refuted this assumption.现代农业利用形式，完全驳倒了这种想象。