Summary
West Africa is experiencing the worst ever outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) globally. What looked like a confined outbreak in a remote community in Guinea in March 2014, in less than five months, has become a complex development challenge, in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone and a threat to economic activities and public health in DRC, Nigeria, and Senegal.
The outbreak and inability to contain it is a reflection of weak institutional and infrastructural capacities. These include weak human development outcomes, weak health systems, free migratory patterns; persistence of fragility characterized by weak social infrastructure; socio-cultural practices (e.g. the traditional funerals practices), etc. Efforts are still on to mobilize experts and resources towards taming this outbreak from the UN, NGOs, the United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention and others.
The nature of the outbreak imposes serous impacts on the economy. The restrictions on the movement of goods and people have threatened the food chains from production to market access and commerce. Most countries bordering Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have closed their borders – with thousands not having access to their livelihoods and sources of income-including farmers not being able to harvest their produce. Even banks in Sierra Leone closed at 1.00 pm thereby restricting access to financial resources for investment and consumption activities. The limited supply of goods and services has started having tolls on prices: the prices of oil, rice and potatoes doubled in Liberia and the price of rice was marked up by at least 30 percent in Sierra Leone. In April alone, inflation rose from 6.39 per cent to 7.8 percent in Sierra Leone2. The fact that July and August period is a planting season in the region makes food crisis imminent in early 2015 and beyond in these countries.
The economic impact of the outbreak is high – ranging from job losses and low revenue to low productivity and low growth. These could reverse the gains achieved on the MDGs, especially poverty, food security, child and maternal health. Greater community engagement in the preparedness and response is imperative.
