The World - News from Jan. 3, 1989

Africa’s living standards are falling along with earnings and growth rates while the continent’s population and debt continue to soar, a senior U.N. economist said in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Making his annual assessment, Adebayo Adedeji, head of the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa, described poor demand for export commodities, “excruciating debt burdens” and net outflow of resources as an “unbearable albatross around Africa’s socio-economic and political neck.” Until the albatross is removed, “recovery and development will continue to elude Africa,” he said.