A man uses an improvised hand washing facility in Liberia's Grand Cape Mount County, where local authorities say more than 20 people are suspected to have died of Ebola, October 30, 2014. REUTERS/James Giahyue

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The World Bank’s private sector arm pledged $450 million (282 million pounds) on Wednesday to support trade, investment and employment in the three West African countries affected the most by the deadly Ebola outbreak.

The announcement from the bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) brings total World Bank commitments for Ebola to nearly $1 billion in the past three months, an unprecedented rapid response for a development institution that has been accused of dragging its feet on project approval in the past.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, a doctor and anthropologist, has led the bank’s response to the virus, which has killed almost 5,000 people, mainly in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

“The fear swirling around Ebola has the potential to do long-term harm to businesses globally, and especially in the Ebola-affected countries,” Kim said in a statement. “IFC .. will find ways to help boost trade and investment in West Africa, which will be essential to ensure that private companies continue to operate and sustain employment under difficult circumstances.”

About $250 million of the new IFC funds will go towards rapid response projects, providing support to small and medium-sized businesses in the region, including $75 million in emergency liquidity for six banks IFC already works with.

The remaining $200 million is committed for projects to support the countries’ recovery after the epidemic, IFC said in a statement.

The World Bank had previously pledged $500 million for countries hit by the epidemic, and warned Ebola could sap more than $32 billion from West Africa by the end of 2015 if it spreads beyond Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.