VOA常速英语2007年-UN Says India Must Reduce Child Mortality Rates

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
10 December 2007

The United Nations says India needs to reduce child mortality rates. A new report by the U.N. Children's Fund or UNICEF, says one-fifth of the worldwide deaths of children under the age of five occur in the populous¹ South Asian country. Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi.

The UNICEF report says India accounted for more than two million of the 9.7 million children who died in the world before their fifth birthday last year.

U.N. officials say that child mortality rates in India - as in the rest of the world - have declined over the last 15 years. But in India this has happened slowly, at an average rate of two-and-a-half percent a year.

UNICEF representative in India, Gianni Murzi, told reporters in New Delhi Monday that India must do more to reduce child mortality.

"We still have some way to go and the pace of achievement need to increase over the next year," said Murzi.  "The world without India will not make the development goals, therefore there is a need for accelerating in the country this pace."

The U.N. has identified malnutrition² as a major challenge in India, and says it is the underlying³ cause of death among fifty percent of the children who die.

Victor Aguayo at UNICEF in New Delhi says it is now recognized that malnutrition levels in India are "unacceptably high."

"Far too many children in India are being born with a very low birth weight, and the infant feeding practices in the first two years of life are sub optimal," he said. "Children are not always being breastfed in an adequate way, and children are not being provided with adequate foods."

The U.N. says India also has the largest pool of children who have never been immunized - about 9.5 million. These children are more vulnerable to diseases such as measles⁴ and diphtheria. The U.N. says pneumonia⁵ and diarrhea are other big killers⁶.

The U.N. reports some success stories. The number of children attending primary school in India is on the rise - about 84 percent of girls and boys between six and 10 are now going to school. More children have access to improved sanitation⁷.

India - a country of over a billion people - is today one of the youngest countries in the world. Nearly one third of its population is under 15 years of age. Economists⁸ and developers have repeatedly stressed that India needs to provide far greater access to improved healthcare and education for this young population.

1 populous   

adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的

参考例句：

• London is the most populous area of Britain.伦敦是英国人口最稠密的地区。
• China is the most populous developing country in the world.中国是世界上人口最多的发展中国家。

2 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

3 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

4 measles   

n.麻疹，风疹，包虫病，痧子

参考例句：

• The doctor is quite definite about Tom having measles.医生十分肯定汤姆得了麻疹。
• The doctor told her to watch out for symptoms of measles.医生叫她注意麻疹出现的症状。

5 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。

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 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。

8 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》