Cost of Fighting the Ebola Virus

Al Jazeera published an important article on World Bank projections as they relate to the cost of fighting the Ebola Virus. According to the World Bank, it was stated in the article that the cost could get to as high as $32.6 billion dollars by 2016. The World Bank President Jim Yong Kim was quoted as saying that “The enormous economic cost of the current outbreak to the affected countries and the world could have been avoided by prudent ongoing investment in health systems-strengthening.”

In addition, a recent World Bank report stated that there needs to be good policy as it relates to stopping the spread of the Ebola, and if such policies exist, we can see that it is effective, such as in the cases of Nigeria and Senegal. The World Bank is also preparing for different scenarios with regards to the Ebola Virus: there is a “Low Ebola” scenario, which focuses on states most impacted by the diseases, as well as another situation, namely the “High Ebola” scenario, which would “corresponds to slower containment within those con tries and infections spreading throughout the region” (Al Jazeera, 2014).

The World Bank and other organizations continue to ask for additional resources to fight the Ebola Virus. Let us continue to demand that the international leaders commit the necessary resources to fighting this disease. As we know, global health should be a top priority among all actors, and that states must provide the support needed to ensure that more people do not get sick from the Ebola Virus.