In the wake of the Ebola outbreak in Liberia many West African nations are putting there efforts and resources into containing the spread of the disease. This has started to strain many of their economies and, as the World Bank has said, will slow down their economic growth for the next few years. The World Bank also says that this can be lessened if the disease is contained quickly and if public hysteria is calmed. Current estimates though say that Liberia's economic growth will drop 11% next year, more than any other West African nation.
How do you think that Liberia and other West African nations can lessen the economic strain that the Ebola outbreak has put on them?
Link to the story: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29239604
They can at least provide people with medical information for staying safe to prevent the spread of the virus. Also they can clean their streets and other public used things from bacteria.
I also believe that improving the over all hygiene could help slow the spreading process. And speeding up the containment process would also calm the public hysteria. People over react when things get out of hand, or if they don't understand a situation.
Sanitation is going to be key for these nations to recover. Countries do not want to expose their own civillians to ebola. Blocking these countries off, in my opinion, is only going to worsen the situation. The people in countries where ebola has struck need economic support. They need a stable economy in order to recieve care, food, and supplies. If the people in these countries are unable to take care of themselves, it will only lead to further outbreaks. Further outbreaks lead to more segregation with other countries, which then leads to a worse economy. It will continue to snowball as long as these countries economies remain in shambles.
The key is to take care of one problem at a time. They should first stop the outbreak, and then fix the economic damage. Otherwise the cost will be too great for their government to handle and the economy will get worse.
I agree that sanitation should be their main priority since many diseases, including Ebola, are spread more rapidly from bacterial and unsanitary conditions. If they can contain, then eventually stop, the outbreak, nations can calm down civilian panic and be back on the road to economic recovery. Rather than isolate the countries that ebola had spread to, countries should join together to help aid them, economically and medically. The potential risk of not taking further precautions/actions would be devastating, especially if the disease should spread around to various parts around the world.
Ebola is growing exponentially, it seems most of the international community doesn't seem to care about West Africa, because these things tend to happen there. To stop the economic damage, you must get West African countries back to normalcy, then markets will return and economies will bounce back. Our efforts against Ebola are currently not enough, they are not enough beds, not enough food, not enough doctors, not enough nurses, not enough of anything to effectively combat the disease.
There is just not enough being done to fight Ebola. with the current economy and support west Africa has, it would be smart to tackle one problem at a time in containing Ebola, treating patients and creating a better hospital environment with more doctors and care, and creating a more sanitized country to keep this from happening again.
