The short-term (2014) impact on output is an estimated 2.1 percentage points of gross domestic product in Guinea, 3.4 percentage points of GDP in Liberia and 3.3 percentage points of GDP in Sierra Leone. Based on 2013 prices, that results in a total of $359 million in lost output.
Additionally, the World Bank estimates the short-term fiscal impacts are $113 million for Liberia, $95 million for Sierra Leone and $120 million for Guinea. Although the governments in these countries are trying to reallocate resources to lessen the impact the epidemic has on their budgets, a significant amount of international support is still necessary, according to the report.
Ebola has an economic impact in various ways, such as the consumption of healthcare resources and people who get sick or die, therefore leaving the labor force. Furthermore, the fear of contagion leads people to avoid contact with others, which disrupts labor force participation, trade, travel and commerce.
“The take-away messages from this analysis are that the economic impacts are already very serious in the core three countries – particularly Liberia and Sierra Leone – and could become catastrophic under a slow-containment, high Ebola scenario,” the report states. “In broader regional terms, the economic impacts could be limited if immediate national and international responses succeed in containing the epidemic and mitigating aversion behavior.”
More articles on the Ebola outbreak:
Ebola panic sparks nationwide discussion about outbreak capacity
Second patient being evaluated for Ebola in Dallas hospital
Texas Health Presbyterian official: Ebola misdiagnosis under review
