This report attempts to provide a long term perspective on the economic situation of sub - Saharan Africa (SSA). It tries to answer the following questions: 1) how have the economies of SSA evolved over the first three decades of independence? 2) what lessons have we learned? 3) what are the prospects for the next generation of Africans? Drawing on past experience, the report explores how programs and policies need to be changed for sustainable growth with equity into the next century. A central theme is that while sound macro economic policies and an efficient infrastructure are essential to provide an enabling environment for the productive use of resources, they alone are not sufficient to transform the structure of African economies. At the same time, major efforts are needed to build African capacities - to produce a better trained, more healthy population and to strengthen the institutional framework within which development can take place. This is why the report strongly supports the ECA and UNICEF's call for human centered development strategy.