IMF approves $130m in aid to 3 Ebola-hit countries

The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved $130 million in aid to Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to help them deal with the economic impact from the Ebola virus, Reuters reported.
'The Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone has already cost too many lives,' IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in a statement. 'This humanitarian crisis could also have deep economic consequences.'
The IMF said the financial aid would become available immediately, and would be in addition to assistance the countries are receiving under existing IMF programs.
The Fund said its preliminary estimates indicated the crisis could shave at least 3 percentage points from economic growth in Liberia and Sierra Leone this year and about 1.5 percentage point off growth in Guinea.
It said the countries would need 'additional and sizable' budgetary support from bilateral and multilateral sources to meet the challenges posed by the outbreak of the virus, which has cut into tax revenues and put demands on public spending. It has estimated the total needed to close their financing gaps at about $300 million.