非洲之角灾民急需更多援助

Current and former U.S. representatives at the United Nations Food and Agriculture agencies Saturday wrapped up their three-day visit to Kenya to assess the international response to the Horn of Africa's ongoing drought and famine. They said aid agencies are able to access more areas in southern Somalia and that aid is reaching people in need, but more must be done.

联合国粮农组织的现任和前任美国代表星期六结束了对肯尼亚为期三天的访问，他们在那里评估国际社会对非洲之角地区持续干旱和饥荒作出的回应。他们说，援助机构现在能够进入索马里南部的更多地区，援助物资已经发放到有需要的人手中，但是还必须做得更多。

The World Food Program's regional director, Stanlake Samkange, told reporters in Nairobi his agency is expanding food distributions in Mogadishu.

世界粮食计划署的地区主任斯坦莱克·萨姆坎戈在内罗毕对记者说，世粮署正在索马里首都摩加迪沙扩大粮食发放。

The agency can now operate directly in the Gedo region as well as in other pockets north and south of the Somali capital that were previously sealed off by the al-Qaida-linked militant group al-Shabab.

该机构现在能在索马里的盖多地区(Gedo)以及摩加迪沙北部和南部的其它地区直接运作，这些地区之前被与基地组织有关联的武装组织青年党封锁。

"The access situation is changing in southern Somalia, I think because of the pressure and the serious condition there, and we are responding to that very actively and very aggressively," said Samkange.

萨姆坎戈说：“索马里南部地区的准入情况正在改善，我想是因为压力和那里的严峻形势，我们正对当地的干旱和饥荒作出非常积极和强有力的回应。”

But, he says, Mogadishu is still dangerous because of what he calls a "security vacuum" that was created following al-Shabab's recent withdrawal from there.

但是他说，摩加迪沙仍然危险，因为青年党最近从那里撤出后，形成了他所说的“安全真空”。

"Unfortunately, at a distribution a little over a week ago, after 70 percent of the distribution had passed peacefully, there was a disturbance amongst the security elements providing security there, and a number of people lost their lives and there was looting of some quantities of food," added Samkange.

萨姆坎戈说：“不幸的是，在一个多星期前的一次粮食发放中，70%的发放物资已经平稳地运送之后，在那里维持治安的安全人员中出现了混乱，有一些人丧生，一些援助粮食被抢。”

Samkange was part of a U.S.-led delegation visiting the Kenyan capital and the Dadaab refugee camp near the Kenyan-Somali border earlier in the week. The aim of the three-day visit was to assess the effectiveness of international efforts to deal with drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.

萨姆坎戈是一个美国领衔的代表团成员，这个代表团本周早些时候访问了肯尼亚首都内罗毕和靠近肯尼亚和索马里边界的达达布难民营。这次为期三天的访问旨在评估国际社会对非洲之角地区干旱和饥荒的援助成效。

Samkange said that, in the month of July, more Somali refugees showed up at Dadaab than in any other month in the camp's 20-year history, creating in his words, an "unprecedented challenge." Dadaab was meant to house 90,000 people, but the population now stands at 440,000 and rising.

萨姆坎戈指出，今年7月份，达达布难民营的索马里难民人数比该难民营20年历史上任何月份都多，用他的话说，这带来了“史无前例的挑战。”达达布难民营的建造是以容纳9万人为目标，而现在那里的难民人数达到了44万人，而且这一数字还在上升。

He said aid workers have had to be flexible and innovative in dealing with the crisis.

萨姆坎戈说，援助人员不得不灵活和创造性地应对这一危机。Ertharin Cousin, the current U.S. representative at the United Nations Food and Agriculture agencies, said discussions with the Kenyan government to expand the Dadaab refugee camp were successful, with the government giving the United Nations' refugee agency permission to open the Ifo II camp, which can accommodate up to 40,000 people.

美国驻联合国粮农组织现任代表库赞(Ertharin Cousin)称，与肯尼亚政府关于扩建达达布难民营的商谈取得成功，该政府允许联合国难民机构开放伊福三号难民营，这个难民营可以最多容纳4万人。

Cousin lauded efforts by aid agencies to deliver food and other supplies to people desperately in need, at Dadaab refugee camp and elsewhere.

库赞对援助机构向达达布难民营和其它地方急需援助的人提供粮食等援助表示赞赏。

"I talked to someone yesterday, a mother and father with four young children, who had walked for 17 days to come from their home to the camp. We were looking at two young boys who literally were skin and bones. But these were parents trying to save their children. When they arrived at the camp, the assistance was there," noted Cousin.

库赞说：“昨天我和一对有4个孩子的父母谈话，他们从家里步行到这个难民营一共走了17天，我们看到两个年幼的男孩真是瘦得皮包骨。这些作父母的设法挽救孩子。当他们到达这个难民营，就受到了援助。”

Cousin reported that $1 billion has been pledged and raised to date by the international community, but the United Nations says it needs an additional $1.5 billion to assist drought and famine victims across the Horn of Africa until the rains come, usually in October.

库赞指出，到目前为止，已筹集到国际社会承诺的10亿美元援助金，但联合国说，还需要15亿美元，以便在雨季10月到来之前向非洲之角的干旱和饥荒灾民提供援助。

The World Food Program's Samkange says normally his agency aims to have enough food and supplies in stock to cover three months, but at the moment they are operating on a month-by-month basis.

世界粮食计划署的萨姆坎戈说，通常世粮署会储备足够用三个月的粮食和其它物资，但是现在，他们只能过一个月算一个月。

He urged donors to continue giving support to drought and famine efforts.

他敦促捐助国继续为这次干旱和饥荒提供援助支持。

"We still need to be sure that in two or three or four months' time we don't find ourselves back in the situation of having to reduce support to people because the international community may have looked elsewhere," Samkange said.

萨姆坎戈说：“我们仍需确保，在未来两三个月或四个月的时间内，我们不会因为国际社会可能已将目光转向别处，而回到不得不减少援助的状况。”

The drought ravaging the Horn of Africa is said to be the worst in decades, with more than 12 million people facing hunger and starvation. Exacerbating the situation in Somalia is conflict between the militant Islamic group al-Shabab and the transitional government, which has caused many parts of the south to be closed to relief work until recently. The United Nations recently declared several regions there as being famine zones.

这次非洲之角遭遇的干旱据说是数十年来最严重的，1200多万人面临饥荒。索马里伊斯兰激进武装组织青年党与过渡政府之间的冲突导致索马里南部的许多地区禁止援助物资进入，直到最近才有所改善。联合国最近宣布，索马里南部的几个地区为饥荒区。