‘80s a ‘Lost Decade,’ Famine Agency Says

The 1980s were a “lost decade” for development in many underdeveloped countries, particularly in Latin America and Africa, the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization said Wednesday.

In a year-end report issued by FAO’s Rome headquarters, Director General Edouard Saouma of Lebanon also said that as the world enters the 1990s, in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa “famine looms again in sharp contrast with the festive spirit of Christmas and the New Year.”

“It is clear that the 1980s was a lost decade for development in many poor countries,” Saouma said. “Some areas, particularly in Latin America and Africa, fell behind.