Raising concerns over a possible famine due
to West Africa’s deadly Ebola epidemic, World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim warned that
the outbreak could trigger famine, and called for the creation of an
international emergency fund for epidemics.
He said that one in four farmers in the
most affected countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea had stopped
planting their fields and called for a "global accord, orchestrated by the
World Bank or another organisation" to "provide funds in case of a
pandemic emergency".
He said the project could work along the
lines of aid from the International Monetary Fund or World Bank for countries
stricken by financial crises or natural disasters, financed by member states.
Meanwhile, The World Health Organization
announced that the Ebola outbreak - almost entirely confined to West Africa -
has killed 5 177 people and infected around 14 500 since Ebola emerged in
Guinea in December.
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