The prognosis for sub-Saharan Africa this year is bleak. Foreign investment, which at $53bn overtook foreign aid to the continent in 2007, has slumped in 2009. Commodity prices – the principal driver of recent economic expansion in Africa – have fallen sharply.
Remittances, a lifeline for the poor as well as an increasingly important source of hard currency, are forecast by the World Bank to fall by nearly 5 per cent. Tourism receipts are also down.
The loss of momentum after one of the most promising bursts of growth in generations is palpable across Africa. For the first time in a decade, average income growth will be outstripped by population increases, raising the prospect that millions of Africans will be thrown back into poverty.
Italy, as host of this year’s G8 meeting, has dutifully put development at the heart of the agenda again. And Africa, as has become traditional, will be strongly represented.
But there is little optimism, among either activists from non-governmental organisations or the more pro-active G8 governments, that this year’s summit will distinguish itself as a noble milestone in the struggle to “make poverty history”.
Full text from the Financial Times, click here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5676104a-6af7-11de-861d-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=b9ceee98-6aa5-11de-ad04-00144feabdc0.html
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