Ebola Outbreak Grinds Economy In Sierra Leone Almost To A Standstill

The Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone is impacting food security in the country as the economy slows down due to the threat of spreading the virus.

Markets are suffering and the availability of goods and food stuffs is shrinking.

In Sierra Leone, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is involved in community engagement, including running public information campaigns on how to prevent infection and where to seek treatment, and procuring basic goods including food.

UNDP is working on plans to make cash transfers available to thousands of affected families. At the same time, our economists are assessing the development impact of the crisis to help drive recovery efforts and make sure communities can rebuild their lives.

SHOTLIST:
19 OCTOBER 2014, FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE

Various shots, market

SOUNDBITE (English) Alimamy Kamara, Market Vendor:
"This Ebola, some customers don't come and buy this or fish or rubber. Some customers don't come and buy some things. Everyday some people go and die. You see, this Ebola is a really, really danger."

SOUNDBITE (English) Esther Senessi, Vegetable Vendor:
"Since this morning I have not sold anything, it's all still there. I bought 250 of these and right now it's still parked there. Business is scarce right now. Things are hard for us. It's not easy. People even come to the market after 12 o'clock, you'll only see a few people. Things are now tough. Places where people work are now closed so they aren't coming. They are not going to work so they're not making money to come to market."

SOUNDBITE (English) Hassanatu Tarawallie, Fish Monger:
"We're losing money. The fish here are all spoiling because there are no customers. There's no money for the customers to come because of this Ebola."

DURATION: 03:06