Ebola: Most African countries avoid major economic loss but impact on Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone remains crippling

Source(s): World Bank, the

The Ebola epidemic will continue to cripple the economies of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone even as transmission rates in the three countries show significant signs of slowing, according to a World Bank Group analysis on the economic impact of Ebola in Africa. The Bank Group estimates that these three countries will lose at least US$1.6 billion in forgone economic growth in 2015 as a result of the epidemic.

But the new report -- released on the eve of the 2015 World Economic Forum in Davos -- also contains more positive news: the probability of spread and the associated economic costs beyond the three most-affected countries are now much lower than previously feared because of the intensive global and national responses to the epidemic over the past several months.

One major lesson from the Ebola outbreak, said Kim, was for the world to respond much more quickly to epidemics.

“This report demonstrates why all countries should make investing in pandemic preparedness a top priority for 2015,” said Kim. “It points to the need for a global pandemic emergency financing facility that will enable the world to respond much more quickly and effectively to any future deadly outbreaks, and avoid the tragic and unnecessary human and economic costs that have resulted from the Ebola epidemic.”

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