International development agency Oxfam warned that without the help of rich countries, Ebola recovery in the three countries hit hardest could lead to a "double disaster."
Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia, the West African countries worst hit in the Ebola outbreak, are among the world's poorest countries. Oxfam encouraged donor countries to adopt a multi-million dollar "Marshall Plan" to help these countries access social services, including health, education, and water and sanitation.
"The world cannot walk away now that, thankfully, cases of this deadly disease are dropping," said Oxfam GB Chief Executive Mark Goldring. "Failure to help these countries after surviving Ebola will condemn them to a double-disaster." Oxfam noted that 60 percent of people in Liberia, the country with the most Ebola deaths, haven't had enough food in the past week.
More than 8,600 people have died in the Ebola outbreak, according to the World Health Organization. The World Bank estimates that since the outbreak, almost 180,000 people in Sierra Leone have lost their jobs, and the countries directly affected will lose more than 12 percent of their combined GDPs this year.