A continent picks up speed... US President Bill Clinton's extensive, 12-day journey through Africa in March and April was the latest example of the renewed sense of international optimism and confidence about Africa. This optimism is reflected in many parts of the continent itself, where a new generation of leaders has taken political and economic charge of their countries with a self-confidence that Africa last saw in the 1960s and 1970s. The Secretary-General's report refers to the "new momentum" in Africa's continuing quest for peace and prosperity, and the beginnings of a successful break with "patterns of the past." While the political gains in Africa have been remarked upon internationally, much less well-known are the extraordinary economic achievements of the last three years: GDP growth in the 1995-97 period has averaged 4 per cent a year. The significance of this achievement can be gauged when one compares previous growth rates: 0.4 per cent for the entire 1980s, and 0.9 per cent for 1990-94. Given an annual population growth rate of around 3 per cent, this reflected a catastrophic fall in personal incomes on a scale seen by no other region since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Eleven countries in 1997 had economic growth rates of 6 per cent or higher: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda and Uganda. Such economic growth would be remarkable for any world region, let alone one so economically disadvantaged. This recent growth is occurring despite cut-backs in aid and a severe debt burden. Africa paid $33 billion in debt repayments last year, $8 billion more than it paid in 1995. And, as the Secretary-General's report points out, tremendous political, social and economic challenges still remain.