Just as the African countries were overcoming the devastating effects of the AIDS epidemic, Ebola's most recent epidemic is causing tremendous damage to the countries were the infection by the Ebola virus is spreading most rapidly: Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
In addition, another serious crisis looms in the horizon: the countries' economic development. The World Health Organization has issued a dramatic warning: the Ebola epidemic threatens the "very survival" of societies and could lead to failed states.
"I have never seen a health event threaten the very survival of societies and governments in already poor countries. I have never seen an infectious disease contribute so strongly to potential state failure," said WHO head Margaret Chan.