WORLD
Congo Ebola outbreak still not global emergency, says WHO
Baku, June 15, AZERTAC
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) does not qualify as an international threat, even though cases have been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda, according to Al Jazeera.
"It was the view of the committee that the outbreak is a health emergency in DRC and the region, but does not meet the criteria for a public health emergency of international concern," the United Nations health agency's expert committee said in a statement on Friday after an emergency meeting.
Despite the outcome of the deliberations, "this outbreak is very much an emergency," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a Geneva press conference via telephone from the DRC.
The virus has killed more than 1,400 people since its outbreak - the second-deadliest in history - was declared in August last year after emerging in eastern DRC's northern Kivu and Ituri provinces.
To be declared a global emergency, an outbreak must constitute a risk to other countries and require a coordinated response. The declaration typically triggers more funding and political attention.