The
World Bank now expects the impact of the Ebola epidemic on Sub-Saharan Africa’s
economy to be around $3-$4 billion, well below a previously outlined worst-case
scenario of $32 billion, the bank’s chief economist for the continent said on
Wednesday.
“The
risk of the highest case of economic impact of Ebola has been reduced because
of the success of containment in some countries. It has not gone to zero
because a great level of preparedness and focus is still needed,” Francisco
Ferreira said in Johannesburg, answering questions at a lecture.
In a
report in October on the possible economic impact of the Ebola epidemic, the
World Bank had said
that if the virus spread significantly outside the
epicentre states of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, this could potentially
cost Africa tens of billions of dollars in disrupted cross-border trade, supply
chains and tourism.
The
bank had said a scaled-up global response was needed to prevent this worst case
scenario, and since then the United Nations has led international efforts to
send more medical personnel to the Ebola zone and increase funding to fight the
worst recorded outbreak of the deadly haemorrhagic virus.
The
latest WHO Ebola tally on Nov. 14 reported 5,177 deaths out of 14,133 cases,
mostly in the three worst-hit countries.
Reuters
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