UN General Assembly
1987

The debt and debt-servicing problems have also assumed alarming dimensions. By the end of 1986 Africa's debt had reached $US 200 billion, amounting to 54 per cent of the gross domestic product and almost 440 per cent of export earnings. Debt-service ratios to exports now exceed 50 per cent and are much higher for many countries. The scheduled debt-service payments exceed $US 15 billion. The situation is so critical that many countries have had to stop payment altogether and a special summit meeting of the Heads of State of OAU, to be held on 30 November and I December 1987, will specifically discuss this problem.