Ebola outbreak could cost Africa billions of dollars

The United Nations announced on Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak could cost Africa up to $3.6 billion and hundreds of thousands of jobs, which could lead to a development crisis.

The government in the Democratic Republic of Congo says the outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus, for which there is no vaccine or proven treatment, has infected 1,307 people and killed 377 in the country since it was announced on May 15.

Uganda has detected a much smaller number of cases, and experts warn of the possibility of it spreading to other neighboring countries, such as South Sudan.

“If we have the resources and make more efforts, we can contain this outbreak and prevent further losses,” said Damian Mama, UNDP Resident Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“If we do not do so, this health emergency may turn into a deeper and longer-term development crisis across the region, and perhaps the entire continent,” he added. The United Nations Development Program identified three scenarios for the outbreak in a report.

At best, where the epidemic remains confined to the two countries, the report estimates the cost of the losses at about $1 billion of Congo’s gross domestic product.
The report stated that in the worst scenario, the disease would spread to countries including Rwanda and Angola and would coincide with the rise in fuel costs associated with the Iran war, leading to a decrease in the continent’s gross domestic product by $3.6 billion and causing the loss of 328,000 jobs.