The African Development Bank (AfDB), on Monday in Addis Ababa, said it earmarked 150 million dollars to support budgets of West African countries affected by the Ebola Virus Disease.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bank had also disbursed 23 million dollars as part of the 60 million dollars pledged to help in fighting the disease in the region.
The bank had on Aug. 27 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, signed an MoU to support the World Health Organisation (WHO) with a grant of 60 million dollars to help strengthen health facilities in West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The bank’s Vice President and Special Envoy on Gender, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, spoke at the opening of the AU Emergency Executive Council meeting in Addis Ababa.
Fraser-Moleketi said the AfDB had also earmarked 150 million dollars to support regional budgets of nations affected by the Ebola virus.
She urged the continent to assist the countries contain the disease which she said had threatened their economies too.
According to her, the crisis will probably cost the affected countries between one and 1.5 per cent of their GDP, which will slow the recovery effort of such nations.
“These are nations beginning to get back on their feets after years of crisis during the war in Liberia and Sierra Leone.”