VOA标准英语2014--埃博拉病毒威胁到百万人的食品安全
时间:2019-01-14 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2014年(十二月)
Ebola Threatens Millions With Food Insecurity 埃博拉病毒威胁到百万人的食品安全
Ebola continues to attack Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone on several fronts. While infections and deaths rise, the disease is posing a greater threat to food security. United Nations agencies warned that more than 1 million people could be food insecure by March unless action is taken now.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Program and the governments of the three countries have just surveyed the food security situation. A joint 1 statement, issued Wednesday, calls for "drastically improved access to food" as well as measures to "safeguard" both crop and livestock 2 production.
"Obviously, the most urgent priority of FAO and all of our U.N. partners is to stop the epidemic 3 and the loss of life that’s caused by it," said Alexander Jones, chief of FAO’s donor 4 relations and resource mobilization.
"But we also need to keep in mind that there is a need to reduce the food security impacts of this crisis, which are equally challenging," Jones continued. "This is having both direct and indirect impacts on millions of people in the three main affected 5 countries in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone."
The U.N. agencies said access to food has been blocked by border closings, quarantines, hunting bans and transport restrictions 6. Livelihoods 7 have been disrupted and food markets have been closed for long periods.
Jones said food harvesting and processing has slowed or stopped in some places.
"These are countries, of course, which have a very large rural agricultural sector," he said. "It’s taking labor 8 force away from these areas. Normally, during harvest and other critical agricultural seasons, there’s a large inflow of population from other areas. And obviously this is not happening with all the quarantines and movement limitations placed on them. So, there’s an absolute lack of labor force in this area."
Farmworkers no longer have the salaries they did prior to the outbreak. Their lack of spending is also contributing to an economic slowdown in the countries.
The FAO’s Jones said farmers who are able to produce some crops are having a tough time selling them.
"So, we’re seeing that prices in production areas are dropping and they’re rising in consumption areas. So, typically, rural areas have less income with which to buy things they need and urban areas are seeing price increases."
Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have been forced to import more food – and are not able to export crops to neighboring countries as they have in the past.
The FAO and the Africa Solidarity 9 Trust Fund have donated more than $3 million to food security efforts. But officials said millions more will be needed.
"The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa has been a wake-up call for the world," said Denise Brown, WFP emergency response coordinator 10 in Dakar.
To make things better, U.N. agencies are trying to "re-establish the farm system in the three countries," their joint statement said. This includes distribution of seeds and fertilizer, better agricultural methods to help compensate 11 for labor shortages, and cash transfers or vouchers 12 to allow people "to buy food and help stimulate 13 markets."
Meanwhile, Brown added, "while working with partners to make things better, we must be prepared for them to get worse."
The statement said roughly 520,000 people currently face severe food insecurity in the three nations. By March, that number is expected to rise: from 120,000 to 280,000 in Sierra Leone; from 170,000 to nearly 300,000 in Liberia; and from 230,000 to more than 470,000 in Guinea.
Searches in Sierra Leone
Authorities in Sierra Leone on Wednesday began conducting house-to-house searches around the capital, Freetown, to look for hidden Ebola patients.
"Don’t hide the sick" when health workers begin visiting, Sierra Leone’s president, Ernest Bai Koroma, said in a statement Tuesday.
The searches are aimed at "extracting every sick person" in order to break the chain of transmission for the Ebola virus.
Freetown has become a center of the outbreak, reporting more than 130 new confirmed cases in the first week of December, one-third of the whole country's total.
In another step, Sierra Leone's government has banned all public Christmas celebrations starting December 20 to reduce physical contact among people.
Likewise, Guinea’s government has banned holiday gatherings 14.
The World Health Organization said Monday that 18,464 cases and 6,841 deaths have been reported in the epidemic overall.
UN Chief to Visit
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is set to visit the West African nations struggling with the Ebola epidemic.
Ban says he is to visit Guinea, Liberia, Mali, and Sierra Leone, the countries most affected by the outbreak, as well as Ghana, the site of the U.N. mission for Ebola response.
Wednesday in New York he said he wants a first-hand look at the Ebola response and to show solidarity with those affected by the illness.
The U.N. chief said there has been an outpouring of life-saving contributions from around the world, and the Ebola response strategy is working, but Ebola also continues to drive up food prices, keep children out of school, and stifle 15 business activity.
- I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤,肩膀脫臼了。
- We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
- Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
- The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。
- 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。
- In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下,接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
- The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。
- 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。
- I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
- a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制
- First came the earliest individualistic pioneers who depended on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. 走在最前面的是早期的个人主义先驱者,他们靠狩猎捕鱼为生。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
- With little influence over policies, their traditional livelihoods are threatened. 因为马赛族人对政策的影响力太小,他们的传统生计受到了威胁。
- We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
- He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
- 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。
- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下,负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
- How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室?
- She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
- Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。
- These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
- This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分(高二)
- Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
- Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。
- His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
- During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次,其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。