GENEVA, July 1, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The deadly Ebola outbreak in the Democratic

Republic of Congo threatens tens of thousands of jobs and could cost Africa

up to $3.6 billion, the United Nations warned.

The UN Development Programme said the epidemic was "sparking a far-reaching

socioeconomic crisis which could push 985,000 more people into poverty".

"The Ebola crisis also risks eliminating tens of thousands of jobs,

disrupting education and healthcare services, and costing African economies

up to $3.6 billion if broader regional and global shocks intensify," UNDP

said in a statement on Tuesday.

The poverty shock -- which would disproportionately affect women -- would

primarily impact the DR Congo and its neighbours, notably Uganda, Rwanda, and

South Sudan.

"While the immediate public health threat is severe and requires containment

measures such as quarantines, some of the broader restrictions on travel and

trade are inadvertently devastating local economies and informal

livelihoods," UNDP warned.

In the DRC, there have been 1,333 cases and 399 deaths confirmed, while 189

people have recovered from the virus, according to figures from the World

Health Organization.

"Ebola does not stop at the hospital gate," said Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP's

Africa regional director.

"It affects livelihoods, education, food security, trade, public finances and

trust. If we treat this Ebola outbreak solely as a health challenge, we risk

missing the much larger development emergency unfolding around it."

UNDP said that even under a baseline scenario where the virus is successfully

contained in the DRC and Uganda -- which has seen 20 confirmed cases -- the

economic damage would be "severe".

The DRC is projected to see "real GDP losses exceeding $1 billion and the

loss of 55,000 jobs", it said.

"Trade disruptions, border restrictions, transport delays, declining consumer

confidence and interruptions to informal markets could reduce continental GDP

by US$2.37 billion, even if transmission remains largely contained," the

agency warned.

UNDP recommended direct cash transfers to the most vulnerable, shifting from

border closures to targeted screening, and setting up emergency financing

mechanisms to ensure maternal, reproductive and infant healthcare services

can continue during the crisis.

The conflict-hit northeastern Ituri province is the epicentre of the DRC's

latest outbreak of Ebola.

This epidemic of the viral haemorrhagic fever is caused by the Bundibugyo

species of the virus, for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment.

BSS/AFP/SSS/1815 hrs