The World Health Organization has decided not to declare a global emergency over the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The WHO said Ebola was “very much an emergency” in the region, but it did not pose a global threat.
However, it was damning of countries for giving less than half the money needed to deal with the disease.
The deadly outbreak – the second largest in history – has killed more than 1,400 people.
This week cases were detected across the border in Uganda, though the virus is not yet spreading there.
Declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern is one of the most important acts the WHO can take.
Such a decision usually means getting more money and healthcare workers to tackle an outbreak – or political support to stop the fighting to let medics get the job done.
So why is Ebola not a global emergency?
This was not a straightforward decision.
Dr Preben Aavitsland, the acting chair of the WHO’s emergency committee, said there was extensive debate and differing views at the emergency meeting.
Dr Aavitsland said: “This is not a global emergency, it is an emergency in DRC, it is a severe emergency.”
“There is nothing to gain, but there is a lot to lose,” he said.
The WHO has previously discussed whether the Ebola outbreak in DRC should be declared an emergency on two occasions.
Both times it decided not to, in part because Ebola was deemed a threat in only in the region rather than internationally.
The outbreak started in August 2018 and is affecting two provinces in DRC – North Kivu and Ituri.
More than 2,100 people have been infected and over 1,400 have died.
It took 224 days for the number of cases to reach 1,000, but just a further 71 days to reach 2,000.
However, 54 cases is still more than the totality of many Ebola outbreaks.
Tackling the disease has been complicated by conflict in the region – between January and May there were more than 40 attacks on health facilities.
It means those people are not seeking treatment and risk spreading the disease to neighbours and relatives.
