A resurgent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo could deal a multibillion-dollar blow to Africa’s economy, with losses reaching up to $3.6 billion and more than 300,000 jobs at risk, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has warned.
UNDP’s Resident Representative, Damien Mama, cautioned that neighboring states may see ripple effects such as border controls, transport holdups, and disruptions to informal trade. These knock-on impacts, he said, “could reduce the continental GDP by $2.37 billion, even if transmission remains largely contained”.
The latest outbreak began on May 15 in eastern DRC and Uganda and has spread across three Congolese provinces. Nearly 400 people have died so far.
