世界卫生组织称医疗账单每年使1亿人陷入贫困

    This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
    这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

    The World Health Organization says the rising cost of health care is a struggle for people and governments around the world.
    世界卫生组织称,医疗费用上涨对全世界人民和政府来说都是一场斗争。

    The problem is greatest in countries where people must often pay directly for services. A new report says these costs push one hundred million people into poverty each year.
    这个问题在一些人们通常必须直接支付医疗服务的国家尤其严重。一份最新的报告声称,医疗费用每年致使1亿人们陷入贫困。

    Aging populations are one reason why health costs are rising. Also, more people are getting chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease that require long-term treatment. And new treatments for health conditions are more costly than old ones.
    人口老龄化是医疗费用不断上升的原因之一。此外,越来越多的人患上糖尿病、心脏病等需要长期治疗的慢性疾病。同时,针对健康状况的新疗法比传统疗法更贵。

    This year's "World Health Report" offers guidelines to strengthen health financing systems and make services available to more people.
    今年的《全球卫生报告》为加强卫生筹资系统,提高医疗服务覆盖率指明方向。

    The report says about one billion people do not get the care they need because it costs too much or it is unavailable.
    这份报告称,由于医疗费用昂贵或缺乏医疗覆盖,大约10亿人无法得到所需的治疗。

    WHO Director-General Margaret Chan says no one should have to risk financial ruin to take care of their health. David Evans agrees. He is the director of health systems financing for the WHO, which is part of the United Nations.
    世卫组织总干事陈冯富珍说,没有人应该为获得医疗服务而冒破产的危险。戴维·埃文斯是联合国机构--世界卫生组织卫生筹资系统主任,他也赞同这一观点。

    DAVID EVANS: "But what the report says, it's not just not acceptable, but it's not necessary. Something could be done and something can be done about it now."
    埃文斯:“但这份报告指出的这一状况不但无法让人接受,也没有必要发生。本应做点什么(改善这一状况),而且现在应该做点什么了。”

    The report says one thing governments can do is provide more money for health care. For example, ten years ago, African leaders agreed to spend fifteen percent of government funds on health. So far, only Liberia, Rwanda and Tanzania have met that goal.
    该报告称,政府能做的一件事就是为医疗保健提供更多资金。例如,十年前,非洲领导人同意动用政府资金的15%用于医疗。到目前为止,只有利比里亚,卢旺达和坦桑尼亚达到了这一目标。

    The report says governments could also raise money more fairly and spend it more wisely. David Evans says several countries are doing this.
    报告称,各国政府也可以更公平地筹集资金,更明智地使用这些资金。埃文斯表示,一些国家正在这样做。

    DAVID EVANS: "Gabon is a low-income country. It has introduced a tax on financial transactions and that is going to help. If Gabon can do something like that, other countries can do it.
    埃文斯:“加蓬是一个低收入国家,该国引入了金融交易税,这将有所帮助。如果加蓬可以这样做,其他国家也能这样做。

    "In terms of financial risk protection, Thailand has introduced health insurance for everyone. And that health insurance is tax-funded, particularly for the poor, so that what happens is the insurance now pays the cost that the people would have paid previously out of their own pockets."
    “在金融风险保障方面,泰国已为全体民众带来健康险。这种医疗保险来源于税收,特别为穷人提供。所以此前人们必须自掏腰包支付的医疗费用现在由保险公司支付。”

    The WHO says smarter spending could reduce health care costs between twenty and forty percent. The report identifies ten areas where better policies and practices could make health systems more efficient.
    世界卫生组织称,更有效地使用可以使医疗费用降低20%-40%。该报告提出了可以使卫生系统更有效率的十个领域的更好的政策与做法。

    One area is in the purchase of medicines. The report says higher-priced drugs are often chosen even when lower-priced medicines of the same quality are available. Also, medicines can go to waste simply because the right storage is not available.
    其中一个领域是药品采购。报告称,即使存在疗效一样的更低价的药品,人们通常也选用更高价的药品。此外,药品还因为仅仅没有正确储藏而浪费。