SOCIETY
Ebola countries to get $450 million in financing
A new private sector initiative announced Wednesday will provide at least $450 million in commercial financing to the three West African countries hardest hit by Ebola to promote trade, investment and employment.
The International Finance Corporation, which is part of the World Bank Group, announced that the package will include $250 million in rapid response projects and at least $200 million in investment projects to support the economic recovery of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea after the Ebola outbreak is controlled.
The announcement coincides with the U.N. Development Program's release of a study on the socio-economic impact of the outbreak, which found that the governments of the three countries need $328 million to be able to function at pre-crisis levels. The study said the shortfalls are caused by increased spending to tackle Ebola and the slowdown of economic activity in fields such as tourism, mining and trade.
"Ebola is a humanitarian crisis first and foremost, but it's also an economic disaster for Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement. "That's why in addition to our emergency aid, we will do all we can to help support the private sector in these countries to build back their business."
IFC, the largest global development institution that focuses exclusively on the private sector, said its initiative includes a $75 million Ebola Emergency Liquidity Facility to fund critical imports for the Ebola-affected countries, including energy, food and agricultural commodities and manufactured goods.
IFC said its board approved the rapid response program last week. It will initially be available to six IFC client banks and could be expanded to additional banks.