UN General Assembly
1984

209. Today, the stark economic reality of the African condition is that millions of people are afflicted by hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy and abject poverty. Over the last few years, the economies of African countries have suffered severe declines in growth and output of goods and services. This trend, already apparent in the 1970s, has worsened over the last three years, leading to depressing growth rates or total stagnation. The result is a dangerous fall in already precarious living standards, mass starvation and widespread decay of the small, but vital, infrastructure and even the environment. 210. The reasons for this decline are many and varied. Foremost among them are the recent severe world recession, which has had such a damaging effect on the economies and productive capacity of many African countries, and the stubborn refusal of our trading partners to pay fair and remunerative prices for our commodities and raw materials.