As Ebola Virus Outbreak Slows, World Bank To Send $15M In Aid To Prevent Food Crises

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES  by Kathleen Caulderwood                                        Feb. 12., 2015

The worst Ebola outbreak in history is slowing down, but the affected countries are only beginning an economic struggle that could last for years.

Just as the U.S. recalled its troops from West Africa, the World Bank pledged millions of dollars in emergency aid to avoid a food crisis that could leave millions starving.      

“Agriculture is the lifeline of the economies of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone,” Makhtar Diop, the World Bank's vice president for Africa, said in a Thursday statement.

“By speeding supplies of urgently needed seeds of major food crops to communities in West Africa, we are jump starting recovery in rural areas and preventing the looming specter of hunger in the countries hardest hit by Ebola.”

The agency plans to send up to $15 million in emergency funding to buy 10,500 metric tons of maize and rice seeds for 200,000 farmers in time for planting season.

                  Even as the outbreak slows and troops pull out, the World Bank is concerned about a looming food crisis that     could leave millions of people starving in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Reuters / Susana Vera

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