VOA慢速英語:財富的增長不足以改善兒童健康

From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.
美國之音英語教學(xué)，這里是經(jīng)濟(jì)報道。
A recent study questions whether placing attention on economic growth is the best way to improve child nutrition in low- and middle-income countries.
近來的一項研究對于在中低收入國家把注意力集中到經(jīng)濟(jì)增長是提高孩子營養(yǎng)的最好方法這一做法提出質(zhì)疑。
Subu Subramanian is a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health in Massachusetts. He says there is a common belief on the best way to improve child health in developing countries. He puts it this way: "Let's just go after economic growth and then everything else will just follow."
蘇布薩博拉曼尼（Subu Subramanian）是馬薩諸塞州哈佛大學(xué)公共健康方面的教授。他表示在發(fā)展中國家人們對于提高孩子營養(yǎng)的最佳方式上有一個共同的信念。他用這種方式總結(jié)這一信念：“經(jīng)濟(jì)增長是第一要務(wù)，經(jīng)濟(jì)增長了，其他的都會隨之解決。”
But he says that is not always true. Take India for example, a common measure of a country's economic heath is gross domestic product (GDP). India's GDP has been growing by more than five percent a year, that is a higher growth rate than most Western countries.
但是蘇布表示那并不總是正確的。比如說印度，衡量國家經(jīng)濟(jì)健康的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是國民生產(chǎn)總值（GDP）印度的國民生產(chǎn)總值每年增長超過5%，超過了大多數(shù)的西方國家。
Yet more than two-fifths of India's children are underweight. And Subu Subramanian says, the percentage of underweight children has changed little since the the early 1990s. He and other researchers asked a question, "was economic growth failing to reach children in countries other than India?"
但是卻有超過五分之二的印度兒童體重過輕。蘇布先生表示到20世紀(jì)90年代初體重過輕的兒童所占比例幾乎沒有改變。他和其他的一些研究人員就提出質(zhì)疑，“在其他的國家是否經(jīng)濟(jì)增長也不能改善兒童健康？”
They looked at health surveys carried out since 1990 in 36 low- and middle-income countries, mostly South of Africa's Sahara Desert. The researchers compared the effect of GDP growth and signs of child malnutrition - like stunted growth and being underweight. But the researchers found only a small relationship or correlation.
他們檢查了自1990年36個中低收入國家發(fā)行的健康調(diào)查，大多數(shù)來自非洲以南的撒哈拉沙漠。研究人員對比國民生產(chǎn)總值增長和兒童營養(yǎng)不良情況（比如發(fā)育不良或者體重過輕）發(fā)現(xiàn)兩者關(guān)聯(lián)甚小。
"practically zero to very, very small," said Subramanian.
“幾乎為零”薩博拉曼尼說到。
The group reported their findings in the journal Lancet Global Health. Subu Subramanian says money should be spent on clear water and waste-treatment system, childhood immunization campaigns and other programs.
研究小組將結(jié)果發(fā)表于Lancet Global Health雜志上。蘇布薩博拉曼尼表示錢應(yīng)當(dāng)花在清潔水資源，整治廢水處理系統(tǒng)，兒童免疫運動以及其他一些相關(guān)的項目上。
"Without these directing investments, what we are seeing is [that] economic growth by itself is not making much impact," said Subramanian.
薩博拉曼尼說“沒有這些直接的投資，我們看到只是經(jīng)濟(jì)增長，看不到經(jīng)濟(jì)增長帶來的一些影響。”
But that is not how Lawrence Haddad sees the issue. He is head of the Institute of Development Studies in Britain. Lawrence Haddad says malnutrition has dropped sharply over the past 20 years in countries like Vietnam, Ghana or Brazil. He says economic growth was responsible for half of those declines.
但是勞倫斯哈達(dá)德卻有不同的看法。他是英國發(fā)展研究所所長。他說在過去的20年里像越南、加納或者巴西這樣的國家，營養(yǎng)不良的現(xiàn)象已顯著下降。其中一半應(yīng)當(dāng)歸功于經(jīng)濟(jì)增長。
"The other half is attributable to strategic investments in water, sanitation, health systems, nutrition programs," said Haddad.
哈達(dá)德說“另一半應(yīng)當(dāng)歸功于對水資源，環(huán)境衛(wèi)生，健康系統(tǒng)和營養(yǎng)項目的戰(zhàn)略性投資。”
He says it takes both GDP growth and the right investments to improve child nutrition.
他說提高兒童營養(yǎng)英擔(dān)從GDP增長和正確投資雙管齊下。
（本文由chinavoa.com翻譯整理，轉(zhuǎn)載請說明出處！）