Economic impact of Ebola less severe than first thought: World Bank
The economic impact of Ebola on African economies in 2015 will be less severe than previously thought, the World Bank said in a report on Tuesday, causing just a fraction of the more than $25 billion in losses first expected. The GDP impact on countries beyond the three directly affected — Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone — is now estimated at $500 million as governments make progress in fighting the disease. The first Ebola outbreak in West Africa began 13 months ago when a Guinean toddler became infected with the haemorrhagic fever. "I am very encouraged to see Ebola transmission rates slowing markedly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and that other potential outbreaks have been averted because of swift action by other West African governments," Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, said in the report.
