The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said the epidemic was "sparking a far-reaching socioeconomic crisis which could push 985,000 more people into poverty". "The Ebola crisis also risks eliminating tens of thousands of jobs, disrupting education and healthcare services, and costing African economies up to $3.6 billion if broader regional and global shocks intensify”, UNDP said in a statement on Tuesday. The poverty shock -- which would disproportionately affect women -- would primarily impact the DR Congo and its neighbors, notably Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan. "While the immediate public health threat is severe and requires containment measures such as quarantines, some of the broader restrictions on travel and trade are inadvertently devastating local economies and informal livelihoods," UNDP warned. In the DRC, there have been 1,333 cases and 399 deaths confirmed, while 189  people have recovered from the virus, according to figures from the World Health Organization. "Ebola does not stop at the hospital gate”, said Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP's Africa regional director. "It affects livelihoods, education, food security, trade, public finances and trust. If we treat this Ebola outbreak solely as a health challenge, we risk missing the much larger development emergency unfolding around it." (Bssnews)