Africa left out in bids to stem spread of global crisis

Most of Sub-Saharan Africa has been bypassed by efforts to prevent the spread of the world financial crisis, says the 1998 Annual Report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. “African capital importers and resource producers,” said the report, quoted by AFP, “stand to see their economic prospects even further constrained, especially if recessionary pressures spread and deepen.” 1998 saw the region face the “the setback of re-emerging and widening conflicts” while Sudan sank “into even deeper disaster”. Official aid to Africa fell in 1997 for the third consecutive year. In 1996 it was US $20.6 billion and in 1997 it was US $18.7 billion, the AFP report said.