Recession to hit Africa hard, as fragile economies feel the COVID-19 heat

During the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa the disease brought the economies of the region to its knees. The overall impact of the Ebola crisis on Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone was estimated by the World Bank to have hit $2.8 billion ($600 million for Guinea, $300 million for Liberia, and $1.9 billion for Sierra Leone). This included the shocks in 2014 and 2015, and 2016 as the economic impact is outlasting the epidemiological impact. The economies of the region remained in recession for a while and the countries are still showing signs of human capital loss as well as economic stagnation. Liberia lost 8% of its doctors, nurses, and midwives to Ebola. Sierra Leone and Guinea lost 7% and 1% of their healthcare workers, respectively. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany were the top donors to the international Ebola response, donating more than $3.611 billion (US$) by December 2015. The US government allocated approximately $2.369 billion for Ebola response activities that included technical expertise, resources to the response and new emergency operations center in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The cost of reconstruction was quickly taken up by the west who shielded the countries from a total