UN: Ebola could cost Africa $3.6 billion

The United Nations said on Tuesday (June 30th) that the Ebola epidemic could cause losses of up to 3.6 billion US dollars for Africa, leading to the unemployment of tens of thousands of people and even triggering a development crisis.

Reuters reports that the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo says that since the Ebola outbreak was declared on May 15th, a total of 1,307 people have been infected and 377 have died.

The origin of this epidemic is the Bundibugyo Ebola virus strain. Currently, there is no vaccine or treatment available for it.

The number of reported cases in Uganda is much lower than that in Congo. Experts warn that the epidemic may spread to other neighboring countries, such as South Sudan.

The UNDP representative in Congo, Mamba, said: "If we have sufficient resources and increase our efforts, we can control the epidemic and prevent further losses."

"If we do not take action, this sudden public health incident could potentially evolve into a more serious and protracted development crisis that affects the entire region and even the entire African continent."

The United Nations Development Programme has outlined three solutions for dealing with the pandemic. The report states that in the best-case scenario where the epidemic is contained within the two countries, Congo (DRC) would suffer a loss of $1 billion in its GDP.

With the pandemic spreading to countries like Rwanda and Angola, coupled with the fuel price hikes caused by the Iranian crisis, the GDP of the African continent will decrease by 3.6 billion US dollars and result in 328,000 job losses.