The world financial and economic crisis has reversed recent
growth trends in the world’s poorest nations, dampening the
prospects that half of the 48 least developed countries (LDCs)
will be able to graduate from that status by the end of the
decade, as called for by last year’s international conference on
LDCs, UNCTAD research shows. Case studies on Zambia, Benin and
Cambodia show that “the recent economic and financial crisis
severely weakened the abilities of many LDCs to maintain steady
income and spending,” an UNCTAD expert told the organization’s
Trade and Development Board at a meeting 21 September. The
findings are contained in a report presented to the Board titled
“Enabling the Graduation of LDCs: Enhancing the Role of
Commodities and Improving Agricultural Productivity.” The report
is available online. Teffere Tesfachew, Director of the
organization’s Division on Africa, Least Developed Countries and
Special Programmes, said that in Zambia, “it was estimated that
the loss in mining production and r