German companies leave West Africa
October 14, 2014
There are no longer any German companies operating out of the three West African nations hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak, the German-African Business Association said Tuesday.
About a dozen firms involved primarily in infrastructure and energy projects have evacuated their personnel from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, however the association noted that it was business as usual in other African countries.
Stefan Liebig, head of the association, warned hysteria surrounding the Ebola epidemic could tarnish the entire continent's reputation as a business destination.
"We have to be careful to avoid a situation in which Africa once again becomes known as a crisis continent where disease is widespread," he said.
The number of German companies active across Africa has doubled in the last decade to around 1,000.
"Africa was becoming a bit trendy," Liebig said, adding that Liberia and Guinea had registered some of the highest growth rates in the world.
The news that German companies had left the region came as the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed the true number of Ebola cases was likely to be considerably higher than initially reported in the three worst-hit areas.
The WHO said the number of infected people was probably 1.5 times higher than previously thought in Guinea, twice as high in Sierra Leone and 2.5 times higher in Liberia. The organization expects the total number of Ebola cases to rise above 9,000 this week.
cjc,el/uhe (Reuters, dpa)