EBOLA – A POTENTIAL DANGER WHICH CAN IMPACT MULTIPLE INDUSTRIES
The 21st century has seen an unprecedented rise in deadly diseases. SARS (severe acute
respiratory syndrome), Swine flu and Ebola are diseases not only capable of causing deaths and
disrupting lives but can also impact the global economy. The SARS outbreak in 2003 cost an
estimated $40 billion in Asia pacific alone. The World Bank had estimated that swine flu if not
controlled could cost $3trillion and result in nearly 5% drop in world GDP[ CITATION Tan09 \l
16393 ]. These pandemics, not only do they cause a havoc in the lives of families but they also
have the potential to disrupt markets. While countries are still reeling from their after effects, we
have another disaster in the making – Ebola.
EBOLA: ITS IMPACT
ON THE GLOBAL
CHOCOLATE
INDUSTRY
Figure 1 – [ CITATION
MainPageImageSource \l
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EBOLA’S IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY OF THE MAIN INFECTED COUNTRIES
The Ebola virus disease is a severe, often fatal disease in humans with a fatality rate of around
50% [CITATION Ebo14 \l 16393 ]. The countries most severely affected by it are Guinea, Sierra
Leone and Liberia. So, why should we worry about Ebola? The World Bank has estimated that
$32.6 billion dollars could be lost by end of 2015. [ CITATION Eco \l 16393 ]This is a
potentially catastrophic event. This is not a problem that impacts only Africa. Its economic
impact can soon spread
out to other countries.
In these countries, there is
already a shortage of
labor supply. People are
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