The United Nations warned on Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak could cost Africa up to $3.6 billion and lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, raising the risk of a broader development crisis across the continent.

Damian Mama, the United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said that adequate funding and stronger response efforts could contain the outbreak and prevent further losses.

He warned that failure to act could transform the current health emergency into a deeper and more prolonged development crisis affecting the region and potentially the entire continent.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has reported 360 deaths among more than 1,270 confirmed Ebola cases. Ebola is one of the world’s most severe viral diseases and is often fatal.