(task) African Economy Less Impacted By Ebola Than Forecasted, Says World Bank : Science : Design & Trend

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http://www.designntrend.com/articles/26441/20141120/african-economy-less-impacted-ebola-forecasted-world-bank.htm

African Economy Less Impacted By Ebola Than Forecasted, Says World Bank

(Photo : Getty Images/Sean Gallup)

In October, the World Bank estimated that the impact on the Africa economy could total $32.6 billion through the end of 2015 if Ebola was to spread outside of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
According to Francisco Ferreira, the World Bank's Chief Economist for the Africa Region,"The cost of the Ebola epidemic for Sub-Saharan Africa's economy is likely to be closer to $3-4 billion and not the worst-case scenario of $32 billion," reports News Daily.

"The risk of the highest case of economic impact of Ebola has been reduced because of the success of containment in some countries," Ferreira said.
An international effort led by the United Nations has increased medical personnel to the most needed areas.
The World Bank Group has attained roughly $1 billion in financing for the countries hardest hit by the epidemic. The U.S., England, Germany, Australia and Japan have contributed the most, according to The Telegraph.

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However, "Relief efforts must focus not only on those directly affected by the virus, but also on those in the poorest communities for whom market access, mobility, and food security continue to get worse," said Ana Revenga, Senior Director of the Poverty Global Practice at the World Bank.
In addition to the 5,177 deaths tallied by the World Health organization, African jobs and tourism have also been affected.
Based on phone surveys, nearly half of those working in Liberia when the outbreak began in March are no longer working, according to the World Bank.
"The Ebola crisis has already ravaged tourism in Africa because the fear factor kept visitors away from countries even where there had been no cases of the virus, like Kenya and South Africa," according to Ferreira.
"Successful containment of Ebola in some West African countries made the gloomiest forecasts less likely, but the economic damage could still escalate if there was any complacency," Ferreira added.