Monopolies on Covid vaccines are killing people in poorer countries
新冠疫苗垄断正在威胁贫穷国家人民的生命
On 10 July, Dr Abraham Sokhaya Nkomo, died of Covid-19 in Pretoria, South Africa. He was a giant of South African public life: a physician and a longtime public health activist.
7 月 10 日，亚布拉罕·苏克哈亚·恩科莫博士在南非比勒陀利亚死于新冠肺炎。他是南非一位卓越的公众人物：既是一名内科医生，也是一位长期活跃于公共卫生领域的活动家。
Less than 3% of the African continent has been vaccinated to date, because rich countries have bought up and hoarded nearly the entire global supply. Dr Nkomo received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on 9 June. Had he lived in the UK, or Germany, Nkomo, who was 80, could have been fully vaccinated by January.
迄今为止，非洲大陆上，只有不到 3% 的人接种了疫苗，因为富裕国家大量买进疫苗，囤积了几乎全球所有的疫苗供给。6 月 9 日，恩科莫博士接种了第一剂辉瑞疫苗。如果他住在英国或德国，80 岁的恩科莫可能在一月份就能全剂量接种疫苗了。
His story lays bare the cruelty of this moment. As the richest countries on Earth lock horns with some of the poorest, the ensuing standoff is taking an intensely personal toll.
他的故事让这个时刻的残酷暴露无遗。地球上最富裕的几个国家与最贫穷的几个国家起了争端，随之而来的僵局正在造成严重的人员伤亡。
When South Africa and India proposed a waiver of pharmaceutical monopolies at the WTO in October 2020, it was to avoid exactly the situation we're now in. Every rich country was against the waiver when it was first proposed.
2020 年 10 月，南非和印度在世贸组织提出放弃医药垄断权，目的就是为了避免我们现在这种情况。但这个提案刚被提出来时，每个富裕国家都反对放弃医药垄断权。
As long as rich countries opposed it, the WTO — which works on a consensus model in which every single member country must agree for a proposal to move forward — could not even begin discussing it.***
只要这些富裕国家反对，世贸组织甚至都不能开始讨论这个问题，因为世贸组织采用的是一种一致性模式，所有成员国都必须达成一致意见才能推进提案。
This week, the WTO will reopen for business after its customary summer holiday. Discussions on the waiver will begin immediately. Mlumbi-Peter, the South African trade representative, is clear about what needs to happen. She wants the WTO to urgently formulate a response appropriate for the emergency we are in.
本周，在惯例的夏季休整后，世贸组织将重新开始办公。关于放弃医药垄断权的讨论将立即开始。南非贸易代表姆伦比·彼得很清楚地知道他们需要什么。她希望世贸组织针对现在的急迫情况，紧急制定一个适合的应对措施。
"There has been no real engagement," she says. "We need an actual text-based negotiation. That would help us create a credible WTO response to Covid-19."
“至今都还没有正式的约定，”她表示，“我们需要一个真正的、书面的谈判。这将有助于我们创建一个世贸组织应对新冠疫情的可靠措施。”
主编：尹岚、阿翀
品控：Pita、夏天
审核：桃子
重点词汇
monopoly
/məˈnɑː.pəl.i/
n. 垄断，独占
词根词缀：mono-（单独，独自）
派生词：monologue
相关词汇：dialogue（n. 对话）
搭配短语：a monopoly on / of
例句：The state has a monopoly of television broadcasting.
文化拓展：游戏《大富翁》的英文名也是 Monopoly。
giant
/ˈdʒaɪ.ənt/
n. 卓越的人，巨头；巨人
词性拓展：giant（adj. 巨大的）
搭配短语：an internet giant
physician
/fɪˈzɪʃ.ən/
n. 医生，内科医生
词义辨析：physician; doctor
doctor 是“医生”的统称，而 physician 则是特指“内科医生”，区别于“外科医生” surgeon。
vaccinate
/ˈvæk.sə.neɪt/
v. 给......接种疫苗
相关词汇：vaccine（n. 疫苗）
搭配短语：sb. be vaccinated against sth.
例句：All children should be vaccinated against measles.
to date
迄今为止
近义短语：up to now
例句：The Lord of the Rings is the greatest fantasy fiction to date.
buy up
大量收购
英文释义：to quickly buy as much of something as possible
搭配短语：to buy up land
hoard
/hɔːrd/
v. 储藏，囤积
词性拓展：hoard（n. 储藏品，收藏物）
英文释义：hidden treasure
搭配短语：a hoard of tinned food
例句：They began to hoard toilet paper.
lay bare
揭露，揭发
相关词汇：lay（v. 安放，放置）
相关词汇：bare（adj. 裸露的，没有覆盖的）
搭配短语：to lay bare the truth of an event
lock horns
发生冲突，起争端
相关词汇：lock（v. 卡住，扣住）
相关词汇：horn（n. 角）
文化拓展：头上有角的动物，比如说麋鹿，在争夺地盘的时候会用角打架，双方的角会架在一起，这个动作就被称为 lock horns，后来这个短语也被用来表示“发生冲突，起争端”。
例句：They have locked horns over this issue many times.
ensuing
/ɪnˈsuː.ɪŋ/
adj. 随后的，随之而来的
相关词汇：ensue（v. 接着发生，接踵而来）
英文释义：happen afterwards
搭配短语：the ensuing weeks
搭配短语：the ensuing problems
standoff
/ˈstænd.ɑːf/
n. 僵局，平局
搭配短语：a diplomat standoff
相关词汇：stand off（离开，远离）
toll
/toʊl/
n. 伤亡人数
搭配短语：take a toll
英文释义：to cause a lot of damage, deaths, suffering, etc.
waiver
/ˈweɪ.vɚ/
n. 弃权声明
相关词汇：waive（v. 放弃（权利））
例句：He waived his right to appeal.
pharmaceutical
/ˌfɑːr.məˈsuː.t̬ɪ.kəl/
adj. 制药的
相关词汇：pharmacy（n. 药房，药店）
搭配短语：a pharmaceutical company
oppose
/əˈpoʊz/
v. 反对
近义词：disagree, disapprove
搭配短语：to oppose the death penalty
consensus
/kənˈsen.səs/
n. 共同意见，共识
英文释义：an opinion that everyone in a group agrees with
搭配短语：reach a consensus on sth.
例句：We should reach a consensus on the aim of this project.
customary
/ˈkʌs.tə.mer.i/
adj. 习俗的，习惯的
相关词汇：custom（n. 习俗，习惯）
搭配短语：it is customary to do sth.
例句：It is customary to eat moon cakes on Mid-Autumn Festival.
formulate
/ˈfɔːr.mjə.leɪt/
v. 策划，规划
英文释义：to develop all the details of a plan for doing something
搭配短语：to formulate a policy
搭配短语：to formulate a theory
engagement
/ɪnˈɡeɪdʒ.mənt/
n. 约定，保证；订婚
搭配短语：dinner engagement
negotiation
/nəˌɡoʊ.ʃiˈeɪ.ʃən/
n. 谈判
搭配短语：open to negotiation
例句：The price is open to negotiation.
credible
/ˈkred.ə.bəl/
adj. 可信的，可靠的
词根词缀：cred（相信）
派生词：credit
派生词：credence
词根词缀：-ible（可以......的）
搭配短语：credible evidence
