Ebola has to be confronted as both a health crisis and a crisis which has stopped development in its tracks, said the UN Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark.
At the Ebola recovery briefing, organized by the UNDP, held late on Thursday at the UN Economic and Social Chamber (ECOSOC) Chamber, Clark noted that the socio-economic impact analyses of the crisis regularly undertaken by UNDP have found that large segments of the active population, including unskilled youth and women, have lost their livelihoods.
Fields have been abandoned in the most affected rural areas, she said, the prices of food and other essential commodities have soared; and fear, stigma, and limits on domestic and international travel and trade have also contributed to the severe economic and social impact, she added.
"It is incumbent on us all to support the three countries to make the serious development setbacks they are experiencing as short-lived as possible," she stressed.
The Governments of the three epicenter countries in their recent discussions with the UN Secretary General have stated that it is now time to lay the foundations for sustained economic and social recovery, pursuing it alongside, and as part of the ongoing response to the outbreak, she added.
This week, at the African Union Summit, leaders of 54 African countries are launching an AU Ebola Solidarity Fund and disease control centre, Clark confirmed.