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Mano River Union Advocacy Document: Ebola Recovery Strategies

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I. Overview

The Ebola outbreak has substantially stunted development progress in the three countries. As shown in Box 1, the real growth rates in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) forecast for 2014 dropped in Guinea to an estimated 1.1 percent from 4.5 percent, in Liberia to an estimated 0.7 per cent from 5.9 percent, and in Sierra Leone to an estimated 7.1 percent from 11.3 percent.

Prior to the Ebola outbreak, the three countries (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) had been experiencing lower growth rates due to external shocks on the prices of prime export commodities which was further worsened by the Ebola crisis. The outbreak led to closure of businesses, reduction in employment, decrease in public revenue and the loss of livelihoods for many people, especially those living below the poverty line. The sectors that were affected most include agriculture, mining, trade and small and medium enterprises, tourism and hospitality, air and sea transport, public infrastructure, fisheries, livestock etc. The countries also had to redirect public resources meant for critical development programmes towards the fight against Ebola.

The human and social toll is tragic. As of mid-June 2015, there have been over 27,000 reported, confirmed, probable and suspected cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the three countries, according to the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), with over 11,000 reported deaths. More than 20,000 children lost either one or both parents.

The fatality rate was higher among women than men because women are the primary health care givers in communities. The countries’ already limited numbers of health workers were the most affected. More than 375 health care personnel were infected, and 189 lost their lives to the epidemic.
Schools closed abruptly, threatening gains made towards achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 2.

As the tide turns on Ebola, the governments and peoples of the three most affected countries undertook extensive consultations at community and national level to design comprehensive national strategies that will ensure sustained recovery from the impact of the EVD outbreak and lay foundations for more resilient economies and societies. At an extraordinary summit of the three countries held in Conakry, Guinea on February 15, 2015, the Presidents of the MRU States resolved to adopt a regional approach to ensure coherence, solidarity and efficiency. This Advocacy Document summarizes the distinct country and sub region recovery priorities.