Socio economic impacts of Ebola on Africa: revised edition

Abstract

Beyond the death toll of the current outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EBOLA), the disease has notable impacts on the three affected countries Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone through two channels. First, the health and humanitarian response requires human and financial resources that were unplanned, as well as reallocation of resources slated for other development efforts. Second perhaps worse is the alarmism surrounding the outbreak of a communicable disease with no known cure or vaccine. This second channel can have tremendous impacts on socioeconomic conditions not only in the three countries but also in their neighbours, West Africa, the continent and even the world at large. To widen and update these findings, ECA has conducted a study on EBOLA’s actual socioeconomic costs and their effect on growth and development prospects.