GENEVA, June 30 — The United Nations (UN) said that an Ebola outbreak could cost Africa up to US$3.6 billion (RM14.71 billion) and hundreds of thousands of jobs, potentially causing a development crisis.
The outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no tested vaccine or treatment, has infected 1,307 people and killed 377 in the Democratic Republic of Congo since being declared on May 15, the government says.
A much smaller number of cases have been reported in Uganda, and experts warn that it could spread to other neighbours, such as South Sudan.
"If we have the resources and we step up, we can contain this outbreak and prevent further losses.
"If we do not, this health emergency risks becoming a much deeper and prolonged development crisis across the region and potentially the continent," said the UN Development Programme's (UNDP) resident representative in Congo Damien Mama.
In a report, the UNDP outlined three scenarios for the outbreak. In the best-case scenario, where the epidemic remains contained to the two countries, the cost to Congo's gross domestic product (GDP) is US$1 billion (RM4.08 billion).
In the worst-case scenario, the disease spreads to countries including Rwanda and Angola and coincides with higher fuel costs linked to the Iran crisis, cutting continental GDP by US$3.6 billion and resulting in 328,000 job losses.
