Progress Slow For Africa's Ldcs

In a presentation at the Expert's Segment of COM2025 on the progress made in priority areas in Africa of the Doha Program of Action for LDCs, she said countries continued to show limited resilience, experiencing high debt and fiscal deficits.

Efforts to build resilience in these economies is also moving slowly, she maintained.

Schwidrowski said Africa is home to 32 of 44 LDCs globally. "This is almost one in 10 people, but they represent less than 1 of global GDP and less than 1 of global exports," she said, highlighting the challenges faced by these countries in building sustainable and resilient economies.

This variation in the types of countries in this category required a nuanced approach to policies to address their challenges.

Four African countries have graduated from LDC status - Botswana 1994, Cabo Verde 2007, Equatorial Guinea 2107 and Sao Tome and Principe 2024 while Senegal and Djibouti, which have been recommended for graduation, have asked for five-year extensions.