--- title: Cost of Ebola for West Africa Far Lower Than Once Feared description: Financial toll for hardest-hit region could fall between $3 billion and $4 billion, or about one-tenth of what the World Bank initially forecast canonical: https://time.com/3596203/lower-ebola-cost-west-africa/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-19T23:08:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T11:34:05.014Z article:section: Health og:title: Cost of Ebola for West Africa Far Lower Than Once Feared og:description: Financial toll for hardest-hit region could fall between $3 billion and $4 billion, or about one-tenth of what the World Bank initially forecast og:url: https://time.com/3596203/lower-ebola-cost-west-africa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cost of Ebola for West Africa Far Lower Than Once Feared twitter:description: Financial toll for hardest-hit region could fall between $3 billion and $4 billion, or about one-tenth of what the World Bank initially forecast twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Cost of Ebola for West Africa Far Lower Than Once Feared by [Fortune / Tom Huddleston, Jr.](https://time.com/author/fortune/) ## Fortune / Tom Huddleston, Jr. Fortune Nov 19, 2014 11:08 PM UTC by [Fortune / Tom Huddleston, Jr.](https://time.com/author/fortune/) ## Fortune / Tom Huddleston, Jr. Fortune Nov 19, 2014 11:08 PM UTC An aggressive response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has reduced a massive $32.6 billion economic tab initially forecast by the World Bank, a top official at the organization said Wednesday. Francisco Ferreira, the World Bank’s chief economist, said at a lecture in Johannesburg that the outbreak’s total financial toll in the region could fall between $3 billion and $4 billion, [according to Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/19/health-ebola-africa-economy-idUSL6N0T91U320141119). Ferreira pointed to successful efforts to contain the disease in some West African countries as a sign that the World Bank’s worst-case scenario is unlikely. But, he also warned that Ebola could still spread if those efforts are not maintained. “It has not gone to zero because a great level of preparedness and focus is still needed,” Ferreira said, according to Reuters. In its latest report on the global Ebola epidemic, [the World Health Organization](http://time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/roadmapsitrep%5F14nov2014%5Feng.pdf?ua=1) counted 5,177 deaths out of 14,413 reported cases of the disease. Liberia has seen the most deaths by far, at greater than 2,800, followed by Sierra Leone and Guinea at more than 1,000 each. The United States has had four reported cases of the disease and one confirmed death. This year’s outbreak has [affected businesses](http://fortune.com/2014/10/30/arcelormittal-business-liberia-ebola-outbreak/) in West Africa and worldwide. A number of [airline stocks dipped](http://fortune.com/2014/10/15/airline-stocks-ebola/) last month following reports that a potentially-infected woman had flown from Cleveland to Dallas on Frontier Airlines. Meanwhile, the stock market in general [suffered in October](http://fortune.com/2014/10/23/stocks-soar-strong-earnings/), in part due to investor concerns over the spread of the disease. [_This article originally appeared on Fortune.com_](http://fortune.com/2014/11/19/world-bank-cost-of-ebola/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3596203/lower-ebola-cost-west-africa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3596203/lower-ebola-cost-west-africa/"},"headline":"Cost of Ebola for West Africa Far Lower Than Once Feared","datePublished":"2014-11-19T23:08:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:34:05.014Z","description":"Financial toll for hardest-hit region could fall between $3 billion and $4 billion, or about one-tenth of what the World Bank initially forecast. 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