FREETOWN, Sierra Leone
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has announced $160 million for economic recovery in Ebola-hit Sierra Leone, calling for concerted effort to avoid a food crisis in the stricken states.
"We are accelerating our support to Sierra Leone and we plan to deliver a comprehensive economic recovery package in two years instead of three," Kim said during a joint press briefing with President Ernest Bai Koroma late Wednesday.
The World Bank chief arrived in Freetown on Wednesday as part of a regional tour to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – the three countries hardest-hit by the virus.
During his two-day visit, Kim is expected to hold talks aimed at assessing the economic impact of the virus on the affected countries.
"We are concerned that agricultural production has dropped significantly as a result of the Ebola epidemic," he said.
"We must make sure the Ebola epidemic is not followed by a food security crisis."
Kim said that the World Bank will provide help to farmers in the Ebola-stricken countries to help them recover from the crisis.
"We'll help farmers recover from this crisis by building feeder roads that connect small farmers to market," he said.
Kim also pledged help to improve basic infrastructure in Sierra Leone such as urban social services and access to electricity.
"We can build the infrastructure, we can train the health workers as much that we can do in responding to the epidemic that we think can enhance economic growth and recovery afterwards," Kim said.
"There is need to help Sierra Leoneans create jobs to be able to recover from income losses as a result of the epidemic," he said.
"The World Bank group and its partners, especially the UK, is committed to supporting Sierra Leone authorities in their emergency response but as well in their longer time economic recovery," he stressed.
In recent months, Ebola – a contagious disease for which there is no known treatment or cure – has killed more than 6,000, mostly in West Africa, according to the World Health Organization.
The World Bank projects that the economies of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea will result in a negative growth due to the Ebola crisis.
According to the World Bank projections, Sierra Leone's economy is expected to grow by 2.0 percent in 2015. The Guinean economy is also projected to grow by 0.2 percent.
In Liberia, where there are signs of progress in containing the epidemic, the economy is projected to grow by 3.0 percent, from 1.0 percent in October but still less than half the pre-crisis estimate of 6.8 percent.
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