Oxfam urges wealthy countries to support Ebola recovery

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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

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.