VOA慢速英语:Aid Workers Seek to Build 'Resilience' in Sahel

In Africa, severe food shortages have affected eighteen million people in nine Sahel countries this year. This was the third severe food crisis in four years in the area bordering the Sahara. How can the Sahel break its cycle of food insecurity? Aid workers are asking that question as this year's emergency eases. David Gressly is the United Nations regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel.
今年，非洲萨赫勒9个国家有1800万人遭遇严重的食物短缺。这是这个撒哈拉邻近地区四年来遭受的第三次严重食物危机。萨赫勒如何打破食物不安定的循环呢？今年的危机缓和后，援助工人就一直在寻找问题的答案。David Gressly是联合国驻萨赫勒地区人道主义协调员。

"If we don't seize the opportunity in two thousand thirteen, there's a good chance that this whole issue will be forgotten until the next drought, and then we'll be asking ourselves the same set of questions."
“如果我们不在2013年抓住这个好机会，那么等到下一次干旱，这个问题会再次浮上水面，那时候我们还会问自己这些问题。”

Mr. Gressly says during a crisis, families eat just one or two meals a day, take their children out of school, sell their animals and go into debt. These actions put them at greater risk in a future crisis. In fact, many of the families affected by this year's food crisis had yet to recover from the earlier ones.
Gressly先生说，危机期间，每户人家每天只吃一两顿饭，不让孩子上学，将牲畜卖了，还欠下债。而这么做让他们在下次危机中遭遇更风险。事实上，今年遭受食物危机的很多家庭还没从以前的危机中缓过劲来。

Aid agencies sent food and emergency assistance. They supplied farmers with drought-resistant seeds, improved fertilizers and medicine for livestock. Aid groups also worked to improve irrigation systems and grain storage. These measures dealt with short-term needs, but David Gressly says the work should not stop when the crisis eases. 
援助机构送来了食物和紧急援助，他们向农民提供抗旱种子、改良化肥和牲畜用药。援助机构还努力改善灌溉系统和粮食储藏。这些措施帮助解决了短期需要，但David Gressly说，危机缓和时这些工作还不能停止。

"And I think now there's an understanding [of the need for] a very targeted program looking at these eighteen million people affected this year, working with them to find ways so that they don't have to make the kinds of decisions to survive in a crisis of a drought, for example, that compromises their long-term future."
“我认为现在人们达成一个共识，就是制定针对性今年受灾的1800万人的项目，与他们一道寻找解决办法，这样他们就不必在旱灾时作出饮鸩止渴的决定。”

Aid groups say they are working to build the "resilience" of communities, to make them stronger during a crisis. David Gressly says this means taking steps like reducing child malnutrition and changing cultural practices that may be harmful.
援助机构称他们正努力提高社区的“抗性”，使他们在危急中能更加强大。David Gressly说这意味着采取像减少儿童营养不良、改变不良的文化习俗这样的做法。

 For example, he says there is a practice in many communities across the Sahel to give water to babies under six months of age because of the heat. But the water is often dirty and makes the children sick. This starts a cycle toward severe malnutrition. It can be prevented by feeding babies only breast milk.
例如，他说整个萨赫勒很多社区会因为酷热给6个月以下的婴儿喝水，但这些水通常很脏，孩子容易生病。这样就开始了严重营养不良这个循环。而只给婴儿母乳就可以起到预防作用。

This year's food crisis followed uNPRedictable and insufficient rains. High food prices only made the situation worse. David Gressly says aid agencies in Chad have been building dams to store water during the rainy season. This water can later be used to irrigate fields.
今年的食物危机紧随未预料的少雨，而高粮价使得情况更糟。David Gressly说，乍得的援助机构已经开始在雨季修建堤坝，这些水随后可以用来灌溉田地。

Al Hassan Cisse from the British aid group Oxfam says building the resilience of poor people also means investing in food reserves and social protections like health care. Aid groups say prevention costs less than treatment.
英国救援组织乐施会的Al Hassan Cisse称提高贫民的抗性还意味着投资食物储备和诸如医疗的社会保障。援助机构称预防成本要低于解决成本。