In this photograph taken Sunday July 14, 2019, a morgue employee walks with a cross past others disinfecting the entrance to the morgue in Beni, Congo DRC. The head of the World Health Organization is convening a meeting of experts Wednesday July 17, 2019 to decide whether the Ebola outbreak should be declared an international emergency after spreading to eastern Congo’s biggest city, Goma, this week.
While the risk of regional spread remains high, the risk outside the region remains low, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said after the announcement in Geneva. Liu said vaccination strategies should be broadened and that more efforts should be made to build trust within communities. Alexandra Phelan, a global health expert at Georgetown University Law Center, said Wednesday’s declaration was long overdue.
The organization’s emergency committee will meet again within three months to assess the situation. Committee members will review whether the outbreak is still a global emergency and whether other measures are needed.