In Brief: Less oil can be deadly for Equatorial Guinea
DAKAR, 24 February 2009 (IRIN) - The African Development Bank projects a dip in the rate of economic growth in Equatorial Guinea - 4.1 percent in 2009 compared to almost 10 percent in 2007 - based on declining oil extractions, which generated more than 40 percent of the country’s wealth in 2007.
The World Bank has linked shrinking incomes to a spike in infant mortality, predicting that at least 200,000 more babies will die annually in sub-Saharan Africa as a result of the international recession.
Boosted by oil earnings, Equatorial Guinea has the world’s 60th highest per capita income (World Bank, 2007) but its residents have on average only 36 years of “healthy living,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Maternal and infant mortality rates are comparable to those of its much poorer sub-Saharan neighbours - 124 babies and at least six women per 1,000 births (WHO, 2006).
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