VOA标准英语2015--Shifting Focus in Ebola Countries

Shifting Focus in Ebola Countries

An organization providing medical assistance to Ebola-affected¹ countries is expanding its operations to include other health needs. Direct Relief is taking the action as fewer new Ebola cases are reported.

From the early days of the West Africa Ebola outbreak, Direct Relief has been sending emergency medical supplies to the region. So far, it’s sent 40 shipments of medical aid worth $25 million dollars. The organization gets its supplies directly from pharmaceutical² companies for use in poor countries.

Andrew MacCalla, Direct Relief’s director of international programs and emergency response, said, “Direct Relief has been one of the largest, if not the largest, and one of the earliest providers of medical assistance into West Africa since the outbreak came about.”

Direct Relief has delivered most of the supplies to Liberia and Sierra Leone, where they were distributed to about 1,000 hospitals and clinics. The organization works with the governments, as well as many NGOs in the affected countries.

“The first planeload was mostly the basic personal protective gear for folks treating Ebola patients. And then as it’s dwindling³ a bit over there we’re now kind of shifting our focus more towards the essential health care commodities, the essential medications for just restoring the health system that’s been so devastated⁴ by Ebola,” he said.

There had been many calls prior to the Ebola outbreak to upgrade healthcare systems in Africa. It most places it did not happen. The epidemic⁵ showed just how fragile the health systems were.

MacCalla said, “As we know, this was an area that already had some major struggles in its health delivery system after coming off civil wars and very low doctor-to-patient ratios and extremely high maternal⁶ mortality rates. So, when Ebola came about and came to be such a big issue so much of the already lacking health supplies and doctors were diverted towards Ebola. So then what you had was normal, everyday medical things became a much lower priority.”

He said there have been higher rates of malaria⁷ and tuberculosis⁸, as well as other health concerns.

“We’re keeping an eye on the Ebola outbreak and know that it needs to get to zero, but really wanting to focus back on things that have been almost forgotten about -- the moms that are pregnant that need to deliver babies safely will a skilled birth attendant. So we’re providing 250 midwife kits⁹ for midwives around the country.”

There’s still a shortage of basic medical supplies.

“In this most recent plane that just landed last week, we sent things specifically requested by the ministries¹⁰ of health and the CDC to go into medical clinics in Liberia and Sierra Leone essentially¹¹ just to be able to reopen them. They’ve had such a drain out of basic supplies like gloves and masks and gowns and bleach¹² and basic medications that we pre-packaged a hundred facility kits – that’s about 50 tons of stuff – to essentially reopen a hundred clinics,” he said.

The goal, MacCalla said, is to support the people who live and work in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

“We’re committed there. The ministries of health have asked us to remain there and we will do so. We’re there for the long run.”

The Direct Relief official said Liberia and Sierra Leone can be rebuilt after the Ebola crisis. He says it will take focus, funding, awareness¹³, medical training and upgraded health facilities.

1 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。

2 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

3 dwindling   

adj.逐渐减少的v.逐渐变少或变小( dwindle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The number of wild animals on the earth is dwindling. 地球上野生动物的数量正日渐减少。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is struggling to come to terms with his dwindling authority. 他正努力适应自己权力被削弱这一局面。 来自辞典例句

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

6 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。

7 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

8 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

9 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

10 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 bleach   

vt.使漂白；vi.变白；n.漂白剂

参考例句：

• These products don't bleach the hair.这些产品不会使头发变白。
• Did you bleach this tablecloth?你把这块桌布漂白了吗？

13 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。