UN General Assembly
1984

143. Suffice it to say that the actual economic performance of the developing countries since 1980 has been in stark contrast to the growth path traced in the International Development Strategy. 144. The economic crisis in Africa, which has been characterized by a persistent drop in the rate of growth of overall output of goods and services over the years, is a case in point. Apart from the consequences of recession, at least 150 million people and 22 countries in this otherwise potentially rich continent have been adversely affected by drought. Unemployment and malnutrition have been intensified, and every major sector of the economy has suffered a decline. 145. The stifling effects of recession have been no less severe in the case of Asia. It is true that a number of Asian countries were able to withstand the onslaught of recession, but that provides no cushion or solace to the majority of those countries, particularly the least developed among them. The largest concentration of the world's desperately poor and hungry— estimated at around 900 million people—is still located in Asia.