Summary
Through international Emergency Appeals in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Senegal, IFRC continues to support National Societies to combat Ebola, through a 5 pillar approach spelled out in the Ebola regional framework.
These include: (1) Beneficiary Communication and Social Mobilization; (2) Contact Tracing and Surveillance; (3) Psychosocial Support; (4) Case Management; and (5) Dead Body Management,
Burials and Disinfection. In addition, a regional appeal has been launched to cater to multi-country support needs. IFRC also continues to support smaller preparedness and response operations financed under the IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) in Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, Central African Republic, Chad, Gambia, Kenya and Guinea Bissau, bringing the total to 15 countries with emergency operations relating to this outbreak
In addition to the enormous and tragic loss of human life, the Ebola epidemic is having devastating effects on these West African economies in a variety of essential sectors by halting trade, hurting agriculture and scaring investors. To halt the spread of the virus, the countries most affected by Ebola have implemented quarantines in areas where risk of infection is high while neighbouring countries such as Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal have imposed restrictions on the movement of people and goods, including border closures. These measures, in turn, have reduced internal and regional trade, transport and tourism.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the forecasted GDP growth in 2014 would have amounted to 11.3 percent, 5.9 percent and 4.5 percent for Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, respectively. However, in mid-August, as a result of these factors, the IMF revised these estimates to 8.0 percent, 2.5 percent and 2.4 percent, accordingly.