The global financial crisis will overshadow this year's annual meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB), which begin Sunday in Dakar, Senegal.

The bank's communications chief, Antoinette Batumubwira, says that after a decade of progress laying the ground for faster growth and poverty reduction, Africa is "fully feeling" the effects of the crisis.

"Gains made by the continent over the last ten years are, today, being undermined by factors beyond Africa’s control," she adds. "While the initial effects of the... crisis were slow to manifest themselves on the continent, the impact is now becoming a lot clearer.

"The crisis is reducing trade, the mainstay of Africa’s recent strong growth."

This and other issues will be discussed at the meeting, which continue until Thursday. The formal conference theme is "Africa and the Financial Crisis: An Agenda for action."