In the year 2014, the US government under Obama’s administration opened the hell gate of Ebola on three West African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia, in support of the US government biological project for global depopulation. Since then the lies surrounding the deliberate spread of the disease has been attributed to bats, monkeys, bushmeat, but they haven’t mentioned cockroach yet.
The impact the Ebola had on the economies of those countries is so severe that till now the three West African countries haven’t recovered. Uncertainty is the eternal enemy of the growing stock market and that uncertainty associated with the Ebola virus epidemic caused significant damage to Wall Street for some time. The impact of the disease also affected markets, budget revenues, and company profits.
Because of the Ebola virus, air carrier stocks sunk. Even though Ebola occurred in three countries in West Africa, the world media poured petrol on the fire, devoting the whole editorials to spread fear and panic in the spread of the disease.
Thus, investments in Africa plummeted. According to the World Bank forecast, the global economy may be short of $ 32.6 billion by December 2015, if the epidemic spreads beyond Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
In a report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) on September 22, 2014, countries affected by the Ebola virus fall into two categories: those in which intense transmission of the virus occurs, and those in which only the initial infections are recorded, or a localized transmission. The first category includes Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, the second – Nigeria and Senegal.
Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea are low-income countries in the western part of tropical Africa.
According to forecasts, the epidemic will have a more pronounced effect in the short and medium term – provided that the virus can be managed before the end of 2015. However, the reappearance of Ebola in Congo about sixteen times creating a false impression that Africa is not a safe continent for business.yet all these problems are been caused by man but
Short-term impact
The short-term effect of the virus, if evaluated is divided into two categories:
- Direct and indirect economic consequences caused by a reduction in the labor force due to illness and the death of workers, as well as increased spending on the health care system.
- According to the World Health Organization, as of September 20, 2014, 3,803 deaths out of 5,843 cases of Ebola virus infection detected were recorded in the three countries mentioned but the death rate was four times higher.
- Effect of fear of infection on behavior. The impact of the Ebola virus on the behavior of people in countries affected by the epidemic is manifested in: emigration of people from affected areas, reduction in the proportion of working people due to staying at home and not going to work, evacuating staff and capital by foreign companies, and closing borders for exported goods.
The economies of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea include the mining and agricultural sectors, as well as the services sector. Ebola can have a negative impact on them, which, in turn, will affect overall economic growth.
Impact on the mining industry
The mining industry in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia is dominated by iron ore and, to a lesser extent, gold and diamonds. This sector accounts for 17% of Liberia’s GDP. Arcelor Mittal, the country’s largest mining company, decided to postpone the planned investment to increase production from 5.2 million iron ore to 15 million, and China Union, Liberia’s second-largest mining company, suspended operations after the outbreak of the disease.As a result, the Liberia mining industry forecast for 2014, made by the World Bank, was revised from a growth of 4.4% to a reduction of 1.3%. The Ebola outbreak had an effect on the mining industry in Sierra Leone, which accounts for 16% of the country’s GDP. However, iron ore prices plummeted, and, accordingly, and mining company revenues fall.
Guinea’s mining sector accounts for less of the same GDP as in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The country’s initial growth forecast for the mining industry was -3%, but has now been revised down by 3.4%.
Impact on the agricultural industry
The Ebola virus had a negative impact on the agricultural industry of all three countries. Agriculture accounts for almost 25% of Liberia’s GDP, and almost half of the country’s labor force is employed in this industry.The reduction in labour mobility and the migration of people to safer areas, as well as the suspension of investment by foreign companies associated with the evacuation of key expatriate employees, have affected exports and the local agriculture sector.
As a result, the World Bank revised its growth forecast downward – from 3.5% to 1.3%. In addition, many small farms producing food for domestic consumption were abandoned. According to the World Bank forecast, Liberia will face food shortages, which, in turn, may lead to higher food prices.
Sierra Leone’s agricultural sector, which focuses on rice, coconut and palm oil, accounts for 50% of the country’s GDP. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, the two regions that became the epicenter of the outbreak of the epidemic, in the aggregate, grew about 18% of the total amount of rice for eating by Sierra Leoneans.
The introduction of quarantine limits the movement of labour, many farms have been abandoned. According to reports cited by the World Bank, rice prices have already increased by 30% in the affected regions of the country.
Guinea’s economy relies heavily on the agricultural and services sectors. After the outbreak of the epidemic in the country, there was a sharp decline in the production of coconut and palm oil, which are the main exported goods of the industry.
Impact on the service sector
The service sector accounts for about 50% of Liberia’s GDP, and it’s hardest hit by the outbreak. According to the World Bank, retailers and wholesalers are faced with a 50-75 percent decline in turnover.The reduction in the number of business and tourist trips has led to a fall in the markets serving expatriates; thus, the sub-industry of hotels and restaurants also experienced the negative impact of the crisis.
The same happens in the services sectors of Sierra Leone and Guinea. The tourism industry in Sierra Leone is suffering losses due to the cancellation of flights. Hotels are only half full. In Guinea, the projected growth in the services sector has been revised downward. Till now after the outbreak, businesses are still struggling to be normal.
The overall impact on the economies of African countries
Both the 2014 outbreak of the disease in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and the continues reappearing of Ebola in Congo, the economic effects of the epidemics have affected the entire African continent. The International Monetary Fund cut its growth forecast for economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa to 5 percent from 5.5 percent, citing economic spillovers from the outbreak.
Source: https://www.modernghana.com/
