Ebola-hit nations' GDP to fall: World Bank

Melbourne

EBOLA'S economic devastation has worsened in West Africa, with the outbreak predicted to shrink gross domestic product next year in two of the three worst-hit countries, the World Bank said.

The bank cut its 2014 growth forecasts for Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, and predicted only Liberia's economy will expand next year as investors flee, construction projects are halted and agricultural production dips, according to an updated assessment of Ebola's economic impact released today.

The Washington-based bank reiterated a projection it made in October that the financial impact of the outbreak could reach US$3.8-32.6 billion by the end of 2015 if the virus continues to surge in the three countries and spreads to neighbouring ones. Mali reported seven cases since November. "As long as the epidemic continues, the human and economic impact will only grow more devastating," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said. "As we accelerate the immediate health response, the international community must also do everything we can to help the affected countries back on the road to economic recovery and development…