This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.
这里是美国之音慢速英语新闻报道。
This week, the United Nations declared a famine in parts of Somalia. A famine is declared when three conditions are reached. Hunger rates among children rise above thirty percent. More than two people in every one hundred thousand die each day. And many people are unable to get food and other basic needs.
本周联合国宣布索马里部分地区陷入饥荒。当某个地区儿童饥饿率超过30%，每万人中每天死亡的人数超过两人，同时人们无法获得食物和其他必需品这三个条件同时达到时就会宣布饥荒。
Mark Bowden, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, made the announcement Wednesday in Nairobi, Kenya.
联合国索马里人道协调员马克·鲍登（Mark Bowden）周三在肯尼亚首都内罗毕做出了这项宣告。
MARK BOWDEN: "We estimate that almost half of the Somali population, 3.7 million people, are affected by this crisis and a full 2.8 million people live in the south, the most seriously affected area. It is likely that tens of thousands will already have died, the majority of these being children."
鲍登：“预计占索马里人口近一半的370万人受到此次危机的影响。其中280万人生活在受饥荒影响最为严重的南部地区。可能已经有1%的人口死亡，其中大部分是儿童。”
The United Nations says a lack of rain over the past few years has created a famine in two areas in southern Somalia: Bakool and Lower Shabelle. Officials say the famine could spread to other areas.
联合国表示，过去几年连续的干旱少雨已经导致索马里南部巴科勒(Bakool)及下谢贝利(Lower Shabelle)两个地区陷入饥荒。有关官员称，饥荒可能会蔓延至索马里其它地区。
This is the first time since nineteen ninety-one that the UN has declared a famine in Somalia. The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in sixty years. UN officials have said more than eleven million people are in need of food aid.
这是1991年以来，联合国首次宣布索马里陷入饥荒。“非洲之角”正经历六十年来最严重的干旱。联合国官员表示，超过1100万人口急需粮食援助。
注：非洲之角包括了索马里、吉布提、埃塞俄比亚和厄立特里亚等国家。
VOA asked Mark Bowden if the organization could have done more to prevent the crisis.
美国之音记者询问鲍登，该组织是否已竭尽全力防止此次危机。
MARK BOWDEN: "We had been hoping to avoid famine, we spent a lot of our resources that we had at the beginning of the year specifically to help those communities that we thought might migrate, to stop migrations, which is one of the major causes of death. We spent our money, we didn't have enough to scale up as we now need to."
鲍登：“我们一直希望能够避免陷入饥荒，今年年初我们投入了我们很多资源，专门帮助那些我们认为可能会迁徙的人群停止迁徙。迁徙是死亡的主要原因之一。我们花钱于此，但我们没有足够资金来完成我们现在急需的扩大规模。”
Now, the United Nations is appealing for three hundred million dollars in the next two months. Officials say much of that will be used to supply existing feeding centers and to provide medical services. The money will also be used to support local economies and farmers.
目前，联合国正呼吁在未来两个月筹集三亿美元。官员们表示，其中大部分钱将用于维持现有的供养中心（feeding centers）并提供医疗服务。这些钱还将用于支持当地经济和农民。
Luca Alinovi is head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization for Somalia. He says the objective is to keep people from fleeing the affected areas.
卢卡·阿利诺维（Luca Alinovi）是联合国粮农组织驻索马里代表处的负责人。他表示，筹集这些资金的目的是为了防止人们逃离受饥荒影响地区。
LUCA ALINOVI: "The only way to prevent people moving out is to make sure that they have hope for the future -- they can make something out of their lives. How can they do that? They can do that only if they feel that in the next few months they will be in condition to produce their food."
阿利诺维：“防止人们迁出的唯一途径是确保他们对未来抱有希望，即确保他们的生活有所成就。他们怎么才能实现这些呢？只有让他们觉得在未来几个月里，他们能够自己生产出食物。”
Bakool and Lower Shabelle are both under the control of al-Shabab. On Friday the militant group called the UN declaration "propaganda." It also said it will permit increased aid only from foreign agencies currently working in its territory.
巴科勒和下谢贝利都处于索马里反政府武装青年党（Al-Shabaab）控制下。上周五该激进组织称联合国的宣告是一种“宣传”。它同时表示将只允许其控制领土内现有的国外机构增加援助。
Al-Shabab is linked to al-Qaida, and the United States has declared it a terrorist organization.
青年党和基地组织（al-Qaida）有关联，美国已宣布其为恐怖组织。
Al-Shabab took control of south-central Somalia a few years ago. Since then, its members have had a hostile relationship with foreign aid groups. Al-Shabab has accused foreign workers of being spies. Militants have kidnapped some workers and killed others. And they have often seized food and other supplies meant for starving Somalis.
几年前，青年党控制了索马里中南部。从那时起，其成员就与国外援助团体产生了敌对关系。青年党指责国外机构工作人员从事间谍行为。武装分子绑架了一些工作人员，并杀害了其他人。而且他们经常掠夺提供给索马里饥饿人口的食物和其他用品。
As a result, many foreign donors have been unwilling to send more aid.
因此，很多国外机构已经不愿意提供更多援助。
Al-Shabab recently ended a ban on airlifts, but a UNICEF spokeswoman, Shantha Bloemen, says there are no guarantees. On Wednesday, the UN children's agency airlifted five tons of supplies to the town of Baidoa in Lower Shabelle. The supplies included food, medicine and water cleaning equipment.
青年党最近结束了对空运的禁令。 但联合国儿童基金会发言人桑塔·布鲁门（Shantha Bloemen）表示，这事没有保障。上周三，联合国儿童基金会向下谢贝利的拜多阿镇空运了5吨物资。其中包括食品、药品和净水设备。
Ms. Bloemen says such a large shipment could not have happened without the approval of al-Shabab.
布鲁门女士表示，如果没有青年党的批准，如此大规模的运输无法成行。
SHANTHA BLOEMEN: "So yes, there was dialogue with local authorities, and obviously they include members of al-Shabab. But the bottom line is that we succeeded in getting those supplies in. Our staff were able to go to the airport and secure the materials and get it out to the people that need it."
布鲁门：“因此，我们的确和地方当局有对话，并且很显然，这其中包括青年党成员。但归根结底，我们将这些物资成功运到。我们的工作人员能够到达机场同时确保物质安全，并将其送到需要的人手中。”
Somalia is a nation of almost ten million people. It has lacked a strong central government since nineteen ninety-one.
索马里是一个人口近千万的国家。自1991年来其一直缺乏一个强大的中央政府。