An international group of public health experts have called on The World Health Organization to convene an emergency committee and consider declaring Congo’s Ebola outbreak an international public health emergency.
The group of experts wrote in the Lancet Monday that such a call would help galvanize “high-level political, financial, and technical support to address the Ebola outbreak that started last May.”
The outbreak, declared just over six months ago in Congo’s east, is the country’s tenth and the world’s second largest recorded. Instability, dense populations, political instability and mass displacement have contributed to the spread.
WHO said Monday it is closely monitoring the situation and if they see signs that would require an expert committee, the director general will call a meeting. WHO in October convened an emergency committee.