The largest-ever outbreak of Ebola could drain billions of dollars from economies in West Africa by the end of next year if the epidemic is not contained, the World Bank said in an analysis today.
The global development lender predicted that slow containment of the disease in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone could lead to broader regional contagion.
Under the worst-case scenario, Guinea's economic growth could be reduced by 2.3 percentage points next year while Sierra Leona's growth would cut by 8.9 percentage points.
Liberia would be hardest-hit, with a reduction of 11.7 percentage points next year, the bank predicted.
