Damien Mama, the resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), stated that the Ebola epidemic will push approximately 1 million people into poverty in a country like the DRC, where 6 out of 10 people live below the poverty line.
elchi reports that Mama made these remarks at the weekly press conference of the United Nations (UN) Office in Geneva.
Noting that as of this week, more than 1,400 cases and 350 deaths related to the Ebola epidemic have been confirmed in the DRC and Uganda, Mama said that the numbers continue to rise.
Mama stated that the Ebola epidemic in the DRC is not just a local health crisis and that more than 90 percent of confirmed cases are concentrated in the Ituri province, a major commercial hub. “Recent analyses show that the epidemic will push approximately 1 million people into poverty in a country like the DRC, where 6 out of 10 people live below the poverty line.” Mama stated that the epidemic could cause up to $3.6 billion in losses in Africa and put more than 300,000 jobs at risk.
Even if the epidemic is brought under control, Mama emphasized that the Democratic Republic of the Congo could lose more than $1 billion in revenue and 55,000 jobs, which could reduce the continent’s Gross Domestic Product by $2.37 billion. “Families are forced to break isolation measures”
Mama pointed out that people are losing their jobs, markets are slowing down, and families are being pushed to the limit by the epidemic, saying: “In desperate situations, families are forced to break isolation measures. Therefore, medical intervention alone was not enough.”
The number of confirmed cases of the Bundibugyo strain of the Ebola epidemic, which began in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in May, has reached 1,274, and the death toll has reached 360.
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