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This working group is focused on sustainable economics and financial balance within resilient social ecologies.

The mission of this working group is to build sustainable economy and financial balance within resilient social ecologies.

Members

Corey Watts david hastings Elhadj Drame John Girard Kathy Gilbeaux LintonWells
Maeryn Obley mdmcdonald Samuel Bendett

Email address for group

economics@m.resiliencesystem.org

4 Myths About Ebola Recovery in West Africa

GLOBAL HEALTH NOW Commentary by  Michael Murphy and Alan Ricks                       April 14, 2015
The aftermath of the world’s worst Ebola outbreak in history provides an important opportunity to reflect on the response; but most importantly, to acknowledge we have much more to do...our great fear is that the international community will declare Ebola’s containment a victory and move on, without addressing the reasons the outbreak was so devastating in the first place. The crisis is the canary in the mine, indicating a broader problem that long existed.

An unfortunate reality that plagues development assistance worldwide is what we call “short-termism.” It’s the tendency to mobilize health infrastructure resources only in crises. This is a reactive and costly strategy that prioritizes temporary stabilization without considerations for long-term security.... 

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Ebola: German ministers talks up economic recovery in West Africa

Deutsche Welle                                                                                          April 7, 2015
BERLIN --Two German federal ministers are on their way to West Africa, to offer Berlin's support as the region recovers from the effects of Ebola. They've also flagged creating specialist teams to deal with future crises.

The lawmakers, Health Minister Hermann Gröhe and Development Minister Gerd Müller...will push for a redevelopment of the affected health systems, and ways to better respond to health disasters in Africa, with a 200-million euro aid package sponsored by Germany.

Müller told the Bild newspaper that a team of "white helmets" - groups of doctors, technicians and specialists - would be set up at Germany's development agency, GIZ, to be sent anywhere in the world in three to five days.

Read complete story.

http://www.dw.de/ebola-german-ministers-talks-up-economic-recovery-in-west-africa/a-18364560

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Energy Agency Sees More Oil Declines, Potential for Conflict

         

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014, file photo, oil pumps work at sunset in the desert oil fields of Sakhir, Bahrain. Oil prices have further to drop with no signs of slowing production in the U.S., according to the International Energy Agency, Friday, March 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File) - Associated Press

ABC News - AP - March 13, 2015

Oil prices have further to drop with few signs of slowing production in the U.S., according to a global energy agency.

The International Energy Agency, a watchdog group based in Paris that represents the world's main oil-importing nations, said in its monthly report Friday that the recent stabilization in oil prices is "precarious."

"Behind the facade of stability, the rebalancing triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course," it said.

That may be playing out right now. Oil prices tumbled 10 percent this week, including a 5 percent drop Friday.

The IEA cautioned that risks of oil supply disruptions are growing. Low prices could raise the risk of social disruption in some countries dependent on oil, the agency said, and the ongoing conflict in Iraq and Libya hasn't slowed down.

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Ebola crisis could force Sierra Leone to diversify away from mining

THE GUARDIAN  by                                                          March 10, 2015

As Sierra Leone looks to rebuild after the Ebola epidemic, it may be forced to diversify from a mining-heavy economic base. Falling iron ore prices and the effects of Ebola on the industry signal the need for change, according to the chairman of the Chamber of Mines, who said the diversification could be beneficial.

A mine in Koidu, Sierra Leone. Falling iron ore prices and the Ebola crisis could force changes in the mining sector.Photograph: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images

 John Bonoh Sisay said mining companies will also have to change the way they interact with local people, placing a greater emphasis on supporting healthcare systems as part of corporate social responsibility.

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Ebola epidemic is 'wake-up call' for investment in universal healthcare

Investment in universal healthcare: Improving health systems in three Ebola-hit African countries would have cost a third of relief effort there, says new Save the Children report

THE GUARDIAN      by Lisa O'Connell                                                                   March 3, 015
Up to 30 countries are vulnerable to an Ebola-style epidemic, unless the world sits up and helps get urgent investment into universal healthcare, a report (pdf) has found.

Health workers who have returned from west Africa and colleagues based in the UK walk to Westminster in support of Save the Children’s campaign to strengthen health systems globally. Photograph: Jeff Moore/Save the Children

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New funding announced for US Ebola preparedness

THE HILL                        by Peter Sullivan                                                                 Feb. 20, 2015

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration on Friday announced around $200 million in new funding to increase Ebola preparedness in the United States. 

The Department of Health and Human Services is giving grants to states to help set up 10 regional Ebola treatment centers, as well as hospitals in every state that can safely care for an Ebola patient until he or she is transferred. Combined with other funds, the move brings the total for local Ebola preparedness to around $340 million.

"Important lessons were also learned during the response effort," HHS said in a statement Friday. "Safety of health care workers must be foremost in health care system preparedness and response activities."

Read complete story.
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/233385-hhs-announces-new-funding-for-us-ebola-preparedness

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China's 2014 economic growth misses target, hits 24-year low

reuters.com - January 20th 2015 - Kevin Yao and Pete Sweeney

China's economy grew at its slowest pace in 24 years in 2014 as property prices cooled and companies and local governments struggled under heavy debt burdens, keeping pressure on Beijing to take aggressive steps to avoid a sharper downturn.

European and Asian shares in fact rose on relief that the news was not worse; the Shanghai Composite index gained 1.85 percent, Japan's Nikkei 225 index saw its biggest one-day gain in a month and European markets rallied.

(VIEW COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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Street Protests Loom as Shortages, Inflation and Oil Slump Hit Venezuela

       

Students block a street as they clash with national guards during a protest against the government in San Cristóbal on Wednesday. Photograph: Reuters

As President Nicolás Maduro tours the world in search of financing, the most conciliatory opposition leader says the time has come to mobilise on the streets

theguardian.com - by Sibylla Brodzinski - January 16, 2015

Even Venezuela’s most conciliatory opposition leader has had enough.

Amid sky-high inflation, an absent president, snaking queues outside supermarkets, and plummeting oil prices, Henrique Capriles said this week that the time was ripe to try to force a change.

“We are in a state of emergency,” he said on Monday. “This is the time to mobilise in the streets.”

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

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International Experts, Led By UN, Kick Off Ebola Recovery Assessment in Sierra Leone

          

Daily life in Freetown, Sierra Leone, one of three West African countries most affected by the outbreak of the Ebola virus.
Photo: World Bank/Dominic Chavez

un.org

15 January 2015 – Spearheaded by the United Nations, a team of international experts has begun an Ebola Recovery Assessment (ERA) mission in Sierra Leone as part of an effort to partner with Governments to address the impact of the virus on affected countries. 

The ERA mission is made up of experts from the European Union, World Bank and the African Development Bank. They are expected to finish their work this weekend in Accra, Ghana after a one-day stop in Guinea tomorrow. 

The mission’s aim is to work with the Governments of the countries hardest hit by the virus –Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea – to assess critical areas that will spearhead economic and social recovery in the post-Ebola era.

According to a statement released by the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone, David McLachlan-Karr, the ERA is anchored in national ownership.

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The Socio-Economic Impacts of Ebola in Liberia

worldbank.org

Latest Key findings
  • nearly half of those working at the start of the Ebola crisis are no longer working, despite improvements in the health situation
  • Women are particularly vulnerable as the labor market stagnates, with 60 percent of those working at the start of the crisis no longer working
  • Farmers cite difficulty in organizing work teams given Ebola fears, reducing harvests.

Background

In an effort to measure the economic impact of Ebola on Liberian households, the World Bank, with the Liberian Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services and the Gallup Organization, has conducted three rounds of mobile-phone surveys, in October, November, and December 2014. 

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