The Socio-Economic Impacts of Ebola in Sierra Leone

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Daily life in Freetown, Sierra Leone

Dominic Chavez/World Bank

Latest Key Findings

• wage and non-farm self-employed workers saw the largest declines in employment in urban areas of Sierra Leone
• job losses have been caused mainly by the indirect effects of necessary preventive measures to restrict disease spread and by the general disruption to the economy caused by the outbreak
• health service utilization has decreased for some non-Ebola conditions in Freetown.

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Background
In an effort to collect timely and robust data on the impacts of Ebola, the Government of Sierra Leone, with support from the World Bank Group and in partnership with Innovations for Poverty Action, is conducting mobile phone surveys with the aim of capturing the key socio-economic effects of the virus. Since the proportion of the population that has been infected is small, the largest impacts on household welfare are expected to result from indirect effects of measures taken to restrict disease spread, and the general disruption to the economy caused by the outbreak.
As of January 4, 2015, Sierra Leone had reported nearly 10,000 cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), and nearly 3,000 deaths. While recent World Health Organization (WHO) reports show that the outbreak is stabilizing in Guinea and Liberia, Sierra Leone continues to see an increasing number of cases and deaths, and the virus has now taken hold across all districts and particularly in the capital, Freetown.
Round One Results (December 2014)
Ebola has had important economic impacts on Sierra Leone. In urban areas, and particularly in Freetown, declines in employment are evident both among wage workers and the non-farm self-employed, with Ebola cited as one of the main reasons for not working.
Among household heads, an estimated 9,000 wage workers and 170,000 self-employed workers outside of agriculture are no longer working since the start of the crisis. The percent of households engaged in a non-farm household enterprise that was no longer operating tripled and among households operating these businesses, average revenue decreased by 40 percent.

The Ebola virus itself must be eradicated- this is the number one priority. But its socio-economic side effects put the current and future prosperity of households at high risk. We must pay careful attention to those who are most vulnerable to both health and economic shocks, and ensure that they are supported throughout and after the crisis.

Ana Revenga
Senior Director, Poverty, World Bank Group

No differences were found in employment impacts across quarantined and non-quarantined districts, further highlighting the importance of economy-wide indirect effects.  Also, the data suggest there has not been recent large scale migration.
The Ebola outbreak has not shown a significant effect on the ongoing harvest although the unseasonably heavy rains appear to have delayed the harvest.  Food insecurity is high in Sierra Leone, but it is unclear the degree to which this is Ebola-related. There is no current evidence to suggest that quarantine restrictions are preventing food from reaching markets, and food insecurity is not higher in the quarantined districts.  The poorest households are the most food insecure and are less likely to have access to informal safety nets through remittances.
There is some evidence of a decrease in utilization of health services for non-EVD conditions in Freetown.  A much lower proportion of women in the capital reported post-natal clinic visits than in 2013. In the rest of the country, on the other hand, there is little evidence of a decline in usage.

These high frequency surveys have been enormously helpful in bridging the gap between country-level growth analysis and the observations from those on the ground as part of the response. From a poverty perspective, we are particularly concerned about households being forced into coping strategies that may harm their long term prospects to improve welfare, and now we can follow this in almost real time.

Kristen Himelein
Poverty Economist, Liberia and Sierra Leone, World Bank Group

This first round of data collection can serve as a reference point to track changes as the Ebola outbreak continues to unfold in Sierra Leone. Subsequent reports are planned monthly going forward in order to help the government and other stakeholders address the most pressing socioeconomic issues as they arise and assist in planning for the eventual crisis recovery.
Read more about the socio-economic impacts of Ebola on Sierra Leone in the full report. Follow the World Bank Group's response to the crisis at #ebolaresponse.

This first round of data collection can serve as a reference point to track changes as the Ebola outbreak continues to unfold in Sierra Leone. Subsequent reports are planned monthly going forward in order to help the government and other stakeholders address the most pressing socioeconomic issues as they arise and assist in planning for the eventual crisis recovery. 

This first round of data collection can serve as a reference point to track changes as the Ebola outbreak continues to unfold in Sierra Leone. Subsequent reports are planned monthly going forward in order to help the government and other stakeholders address the most pressing socioeconomic issues as they arise and assist in planning for the eventual crisis recovery. 

This first round of data collection can serve as a reference point to track changes as the Ebola outbreak continues to unfold in Sierra Leone. Subsequent reports are planned monthly going forward in order to help the government and other stakeholders address the most pressing socioeconomic issues as they arise and assist in planning for the eventual crisis recovery.