A new study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases has pegged the economic impact of the Ebola outbreak on three West African countries at $53 billion.
The outbreak mainly between 2013 and 2016 in Sirrea Leone, Guinea and Liberia killed at least 11,000 people, more than all other known Ebola outbreaks combined.
The study sought to combine the direct economic burden and the indirect social impact of the outbreak to generate a comprehensive cost.
The study authored by Caroline Huber, Lyn Finelli and Warren Stevens puts the economic costs alone at $14 billion.
The World Bank had earlier estimated the  overall impact of the Ebola crisis on Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone at $2.8 billion ($600 million for Guinea, $300 million for Liberia, and $1.9 billion for Sierra Leone).
This includes the shocks in 2014 and 2015, and the projections for 2016 as the economic impact is outlasting the epidemiological impact.
The shock according to the bank was worsened by the large decline in the world price of iron ore and other commodities.
The latest report is coming at a time when the recent outbreak of Ebola is said to be taking a toll on the economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo which is currently battling a new wave of the disease.
According to the WHO’s most recent report, released on Tuesday, a total of 238 confirmed and probable Ebola Virus Disease cases have been reported in Congo’s North Kivu and Ituri provinces.
It said 155 people have died.The WHO has warned the virus could spread to nearby countries, such as Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
Source: Africafeeds.com
