WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Ebola epidemic continues to cripple the economies of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and is projected to lead to slower growth or even contraction in these countries, a report released by the World Bank showed on Tuesday.
The World Bank forecast the 2014 economic growth rates for Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea to reach 2.2 percent, 4 percent and 0.5 percent respectively, lower than its October's forecasts of 2.5 percent, 8 percent and 2.4 percent for these three countries respectively, said the report.
The World Bank predicted the economic growth rate for Liberia in 2015 will be 3 percent, down from its June's pre-Ebola crisis forecast of 6.8 percent, but up from its October's prediction of 1 percent, saying the country was showing signs of progress in containing the epidemic and increasing economic activity.
But the Washington-based institution was projecting negative growth rates for both Sierra Leone and Guinea. It expected Sierra Leone's economy to contract 2 percent in 2015, compared to its October's forecast of 7.7 percent; and Guinea's economy will fall 0.2 percent in 2015, compared to a 2 percent growth forecast made in October.
The World Bank said in the report that the latest projections implied forgone income across the three countries in 2014 and 2015 totaling more than 2 billion U.S. dollars.
The report comes as World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim begins a two-day visit to West Africa to assess the epidemic's impact and discuss ways of fighting the outbreak.
"This report reinforces why zero Ebola cases must be our goal. While there are signs of progress, as long as the epidemic continues, the human and economic impact will only grow more devastating," Kim said in the report.
Some 5,674 people had died of Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in the worst outbreak of the virus on record, the World Health Organization said in its latest update released on Wednesday.
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