Ebola crisis crippling West African economies, say World Bank

Date: Dec-03-2014 An update report from the World Bank says the Ebola crisis in West Africa

continues to cripple the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone - prompting

calls for the international community to do everything it can to put those countries back

on the road to economic recovery and development.

A new report from the World Bank says the Ebola crisis is crippling

national economies and threatens to undermine efforts to tackle poverty in Guinea,

Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The new update projects that the economies of these three worst-affected countries are

likely to suffer negative or contracting growth next year as they work to eliminate the

Ebola virus.

The World Bank has sharply revised downward economic growth estimates for the three

countries since the crisis began.

Before the Ebola outbreak struck in West Africa in March 2014, the World Bank had

estimated a gross domestic product (GDP) growth for Liberia of 5.9%. Since the crisis, however, this has been revised sharply

downward to 2.5% in October and now, to 2.2%.

For Sierra Leone, the pre-crisis figure for GDP growth in 2014 was 11.3%, then in

October this was reduced to 8%, and now it is 4%. For Guinea, these estimates are

4.5%, 2.4% and 0.5%, respectively.

2015 is looking even worse. The World Bank is projecting negative growth for Guinea

and Sierra Leone, and less than half of the growth predicted pre-crisis for Liberia, the

impact of which implies forgone income across the three countries in 2014-15 of more than

$2 billion in total.

Report highlights importance of 'zero Ebola cases' as goal for West Africa

The new update shows that:

In Guinea, the World Bank estimates negative GDP growth of -0.2% in 2015 (down from

4.3% pre-crisis and 2% in the October estimate)
Sierra Leone's GPD is predicted to shrink by 2% in 2015 (pre-crisis this estimate was

8.9% and 7.7% in October)
Liberia's GDP is projected to grow by 3% in 2015 (1% higher than the October

estimate but still less than half of the 6.8% pre-crisis projection).

The more positive outlook for Liberia reflects the fact the country is showing signs

of progress in containing the epidemic and some increasing economic activity, say the

World Bank.

Before the Ebola crisis hit them, all three countries had been enjoying rapid

growth.

World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim is embarking on a 2-day visit to West Africa

to discuss with governments and international agencies what needs to be done to reach the

goal of "zero cases" as soon as possible. He says:

"This report reinforces why zero Ebola cases must be our goal. While there are signs

of progress, as long as the epidemic continues, the human and economic impact will only

grow more devastating."

He urges the international community to do everything it can to help the affected

countries get "back on the road to economic recovery and development."

Ebola crisis putting investment projects on hold

The report describes how the Ebola crisis is hurting future economic growth by

putting projects - such as Liberia's Mount Coffee hydroelectric plant - on hold and

forcing governments to cut public investment.

To minimize the scale of the economic impact of Ebola in West Africa, there is also a

need to invest in preparedness in neighboring countries, say the World Bank.

Ebola is a virus disease that many scientists believe begins - and survives in the

longer term - in "reservoir" animal species like bats and now and again jumps to

humans.

Ebola is not the only disease that exists like this - for example HIV, SARS and West

Nile virus have a similar cross-species pattern - highlighting the importance of

continued surveillance.

Now, there are fresh concerns that another family of deadly viruses may be jumping

from fruit bats to humans. In a Nature Communications study that Medical

News Today reported recently, experts describe the Ebola-like threat posed by henipaviruses. These viruses cause - sometimes harmless and sometimes deadly - rare infections in humans.

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD

Not to be reproduced without permission.

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Courtesy: Medical News Today Note: Any medical information available in this news section is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional.