PBS高端访问:为何医疗措施抑制不住埃博拉疫情的蔓延?
时间:2019-01-27 作者:英语课 分类:PBS访谈社会系列
英语课
GWEN IFILL: Despite new pledges of aid, international leaders provided downbeat assessments 2 of the current battle against Ebola. The head of the World Bank said the international community — community had — quote — "failed miserably 3" in its initial response. The director of the CDC said the situation reminded him of the early days of the AIDS epidemic 4.
We get our own assessment 1 from one of the few nongovernmental groups treating patients in West Africa.
International Medical Corps 5 has built a treatment clinic in Liberia and is constructing other facilities in both Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Its president and CEO, Nancy Aossey, joins me now.
Thank you for joining us.
NANCY AOSSEY, International Medical Corps: Thank you, Gwen.
GWEN IFILL: How many bed, how many facilities, how many people would you say that you're engaged in treating now?
NANCY AOSSEY: OK.
So, in Liberia, International Medical Corps opened up a 70-bed hospital — or actually we call it a treatment unit. We opened that up in mid-September. We are scaling up and we will be opening up another treatment unit in Sierra Leone.
In Liberia, we have about 200 people working in this treatment unit, trying to contain it, as well as treating people who have Ebola, with the hopes that they will recover, and they are recovering when they receive treatment.
GWEN IFILL: Do you have any sense that the progress of this disease is being — is slowing?
NANCY AOSSEY: Well, let me say that it's clear that efforts, like ours and other organizations', are working. When there are treatment efforts, when there are health care workers to treat patients as they come in — I mean, our first patients that arrived to our treatment unit, they died at the doorstep.
But now we see that patients are recovering, and they're returning back to their families. So any efforts around treatment and containment 6 are working. The problem and the challenge is that there are just not enough operational efforts on the ground. That's the challenge.
GWEN IFILL: Is that because a lack of international action or nongovernmental action, or is it because the infrastructure 7 in these communities is so difficult that even if you sent them 10 collapsible hospitals, pop-up hospitals, they couldn't build them?
NANCY AOSSEY: OK.
Well, it's a number of factors. One, certainly, the health care infrastructures 8 are very weak in West Africa, under-resourced. They don't have enough health workers. That's one thing. The second thing is the spread wasn't contained more quickly some months ago.
International donors 9 are stepping up. In fact, our treatment unit in Liberia was made possible from a grant from USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. It took $5 million to open that up and about a million a month.
So, part of it is the resources need to be there, but also people are really afraid. They're afraid to provide treatment because they also need to keep their own health workers safe. And so one of the things that we have done is we have said to other community health people as well as other international NGOs, we will provide case management protocol 10 training.
We will train their workers so that they can open up more treatment facilities. The problem we have now is that the disease and the outbreak is being — is outpacing the operational efforts on ground. There are a lot of plans in place, by the way, to change that, and we're still within that window.
GWEN IFILL: Right.
Well, this part about how you keep health workers safe is something that was raised in a piece we had on the "NewsHour" last night about CDC workers preparing to go abroad. It takes 20 minutes to get into one of those suits, as long to get out of the suits and it's possibly more difficult.
Are you suffering at all from lack of willingness of volunteers to take all that on?
NANCY AOSSEY: Oh, yes, great question.
So, the suits, it's very complicated. We have — you can only stay them in about two hours in Africa. It's that hot. We have a buddy 11 system, because people make mistakes. And so we have someone watching the other health worker so that they don't infect themselves through a basic mistake.
But what we are finding is that when proper — when people are properly equipped and they have the proper protocols 12 in place, they can successfully treat patients and it can be contained. But that training, that knowledge is very important. And so what we have done is, we have said, you know, when organizations come to, say, Liberia, we will provide seven to 10 days of training, and as well the U.S. military is putting together a 25-bed hospital in Liberia specifically to take care of health workers, because one of the challenges around — you know, they call it the nurse killer 13 in Liberia.
One of the challenges around Ebola is that health workers are willing to step forward and help, and they're very heroic, but our recruitment efforts are helped greatly by the fact that we can treat them if they catch Ebola.
GWEN IFILL: An organization like yours, International Medical Corps, Ebola is not your only goal.
NANCY AOSSEY: Right.
GWEN IFILL: You also are working in places like the Central African Republic or in Syria among refugees. How do you stop resources from being stretched too thin to handle all of these crises at one time?
NANCY AOSSEY: Right. Well, we're in unprecedented 14 times. We have six category three emergencies.
GWEN IFILL: Six?
NANCY AOSSEY: That is the highest emergency.
Never in our history have we had that. I mean, one of the toughest years would have been two a year. And we have six in — we have six now in the last six months alone. So, you know, it's all hands on deck. We're hopeful that supporters, both government agencies and private sector 15 — the private sector is starting to step into the Ebola fight, the refugee crises.
They're an important part of these efforts. But the fact is, it's like we have to do it on all fronts, frankly 16. It's impossible to pick among these because they're all at the highest level they can be.
GWEN IFILL: There are some places where they have been able to stop the spread and some places where they haven't. We heard the head of the World Bank today say that there is — nothing less than the future of Africa is at stake right now.
NANCY AOSSEY: Yes.
GWEN IFILL: Do you see that?
NANCY AOSSEY: This can be stopped and it can be contained, but it has to be. It absolutely has to be stopped, because the fact of the matter is, we have — here we have two countries, Sierra Leone and Liberia, who are coming back from the brink 17 of civil war.
I mean, they have done so much to come back from where they were, and for them to be now dealing 18 with Ebola on top of it, this — this crisis is a global crisis. It's a world problem. It's not just West Africa. We are all in it together. And we have to take the view that it is everyone's problem, and whatever resources it takes, we have to be there, because it's going to continue to spread if we're not there.
And it has to be stopped and contained at the source.
GWEN IFILL: Nancy Aossey, president and CEO of the International Medical Corps, thank you very much.
NANCY AOSSEY: Thank you, Gwen. Thanks.
n.评价;评估;对财产的估价,被估定的金额
- This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
- What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何?
n.评估( assessment的名词复数 );评价;(应偿付金额的)估定;(为征税对财产所作的)估价
- He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明,约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评;而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句
adv.痛苦地;悲惨地;糟糕地;极度地
- The little girl was wailing miserably. 那小女孩难过得号啕大哭。
- It was drizzling, and miserably cold and damp. 外面下着毛毛细雨,天气又冷又湿,令人难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.流行病;盛行;adj.流行性的,流传极广的
- 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。
n.(通信等兵种的)部队;(同类作的)一组
- The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
- When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时,他自愿参加了海军陆战队。
n.阻止,遏制;容量
- Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
- Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说,心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。
n.下部构造,下部组织,基础结构,基础设施
- We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
- We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设,发展各类群众文化。
n.基础设施( infrastructure的名词复数 );基础结构;行政机构;秘密机构
- Public transportation termini and depots are important infrastructures for a city. 公交场站设施是城市重要的基础设施。 来自互联网
- The increasingly fast urbanization process requires more and more infrastructures. 我国城市化进程不断加快,对城市基础设施的需求也越来越大。 来自互联网
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者
- Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去,请给我们发电子邮件。
- About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.议定书,草约,会谈记录,外交礼节
- We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
- The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。
n.(美口)密友,伙伴
- Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气,老兄。有什么麻烦吗?
- Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了,你这家伙!
n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 );(外交条约的)草案;(数据传递的)协议;科学实验报告(或计划)
- There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
- Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网
n.杀人者,杀人犯,杀手,屠杀者
- Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
- The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。
adj.无前例的,新奇的
- The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
- A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。
n.部门,部分;防御地段,防区;扇形
- The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
- The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说
- To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说,我一点也不赞成这个主意。
- Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说,我不反对改革。
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿
- The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
- The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。