第2336期:South Africa’s ‘Health Train’ Travels to Patients in Need

In South Africa, a former passenger train now serves as a traveling medical center to provide health services to people in need. 

在南非，一列以前的旅客列车现在充当旅行医疗中心，为有需要的人提供医疗服务。 

The train is known as Phelophepa. In the Sesotho language, this means “good, clean, health.” It travels across South Africa to provide medical care to a mix of patients for whom usual heath care is unavailable or rare. 

这列火车被称为Phelophepa。在塞索托语中，这意味着“良好、干净、健康”。它穿越南非，为无法获得或很少获得常规医疗护理的患者提供医疗服务。 

The train has been operating since South Africa’s government ended its racist system of apartheid in the early 1990s. The train carries medical professionals around the country, even to the most rural villages. Officials say the service helps at least 375,000 South Africans each year. 

自南非政府于 20 世纪 90 年代初结束种族主义种族隔离制度以来，这列火车一直在运营。火车载着医疗专业人员前往全国各地，甚至到最偏远的村庄。官员们表示，这项服务每年至少为 375,000 名南非人提供帮助。 

The care patients receive is separate from the government’s main public health care system. That system serves an estimated 84 percent of the population. But government insurance plans are too costly for many people to pay for. South Africa is also dealing with an unemployment rate of more than 32 percent. 

患者接受的护理独立于政府的主要公共医疗保健系统。该系统为估计 84% 的人口提供服务。但政府保险计划的成本太高，许多人无法支付。南非的失业率也超过 32%。

The government has taken some steps to help get more of the nation’s population covered by public health insurance plans. 

政府已采取一些措施来帮助更多的全国人口享受公共健康保险计划。 

One of those came in May, when South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law creating the country’s National Health Insurance Act. The law aims to provide financial assistance to millions of South Africans who do not currently have health insurance. The program gets support from private insurers. 

其中之一是在五月份，当时南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨签署了一项制定该国《国民健康保险法》的法律。该法律旨在为目前没有医疗保险的数百万南非人提供经济援助。该计划得到了私人保险公司的支持。 

However, the National Health Insurance Act has been hotly debated. Critics have said government officials have not yet said how much the program will cost or where that money will come from. Economists have predicted the government will have to raise taxes to finance the law. Critics have urged the government to instead fix the country’s public healthcare system. 

然而，国民健康保险法却引发了激烈的争论。批评人士表示，政府官员尚未透露该计划的成本或资金从何而来。经济学家预测政府将不得不提高税收来为该法律提供资金。批评者敦促政府修复该国的公共医疗保健系统。

Thethiwe Mahlangu has used the health train and recently spoke to The Associated Press about her experiences. She said local health clinics in her area – in the township of Tembisa, east of Johannesburg – cannot effectively serve her needs.

Thethiwe Mahlangu 曾乘坐过健康列车，最近向美联社讲述了她的经历。她说，她所在地区（约翰内斯堡东部的坦比萨镇）的当地卫生诊所无法有效满足她的需求。 

“There we are not treated well,” Mahlangu said. “We are made to sit in the sun for long periods. You can sit there from 7 a.m. until around 4 p.m. when the clinic closes.” She noted that when people ask about such issues, the medical workers say they simply need bigger hospitals. 

“我们在那里没有得到很好的待遇，”马兰古说。“我们生来就必须长时间坐在阳光下。你可以从早上 7 点坐到下午 4 点左右。当诊所关门的时候。” 她指出，当人们问及此类问题时，医务人员说他们只是需要更大的医院。 

When the train began in 1994, many Black people in South Africa still lived in rural villages with little availability to health centers. The time was a period of great change in South Africa. Today, the trains assist the growing populations of the capital, Pretoria, as well as Johannesburg, the country's economic center. 

当火车于 1994 年开通时，南非的许多黑人仍然居住在乡村，几乎没有医疗中心。当时正是南非发生巨变的时期。如今，火车为首都比勒陀利亚以及该国经济中心约翰内斯堡不断增长的人口提供帮助。

Shemona Kendiah is the train's manager. She told the AP trains can remain in one place for multiple days to see as many people as possible. Those going to major population centers – like Tembisa, for example – can end up staying up to two weeks. “The major metros are really struggling,” Kendiah said. 

谢莫娜·肯迪亚 (Shemona Kendiah) 是列车经理。她告诉美联社的火车可以在一个地方停留多天，以便见到尽可能多的人。那些前往主要人口中心（例如坦比萨）的人最终可能会停留长达两周。“主要的地铁确实在苦苦挣扎，”肯迪亚说。 

Mahlangu’s trip resulted in her getting a new pair of glasses. She was among hundreds of people who received health services from the train on its latest stop. 

马兰古的旅行让她得到了一副新眼镜。她是在最新一站火车上接受医疗服务的数百人之一。 

Another patient, Jane Mabuza, got a full health examination as well as services for her teeth. She said she hopes the train will be able to reach many more people in other areas. “Here on the train you never hear that anything has been finished,” Mabuza added. 

另一位患者 Jane Mabuza 接受了全面的健康检查以及牙齿治疗。她说，她希望火车能够到达其他地区的更多人。“在火车上，你永远不会听到任何事情已经完成，”马布扎补充道。