The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa released on December 16th, a calling for the cancellation of the debt of countries affected by the Ebola virus. The report published on 15th December indicates that the spread of the disease has reduced the development efforts of the concerned countries
The report of the African economic institution considers that the impact of Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia is important enough to justify the cancellation of the debt of these countries.
“This cancellation will enable these countries to start from scratch once the Ebola outbreak which has been brought under control,” says the study. It laments that companies in these countries are closing and lying off their staff every week, in sectors such as tourism, construction and even education.
“If the outbreak can be limited to these three states, its economic impact on the continent will be limited,” points out the report. These countries have experienced significant declines in their GDP, without impacting on other economies.
The text also notes that unemployment and corporate bankruptcies have increased; a dozen companies are closing at least every week. It is also interested in the most exposed population and notes that it is made up of rural families who rarely have reserves to offset the reduction in grain production due to the outbreak.