WHO declares Ebola outbreak a public health emergency

The World Health Organization declared on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has now spread to Uganda and infected an American doctor evacuated to Germany, constitutes a public health emergency of international concern but does not yet meet the threshold for a pandemic emergency. The UN health agency has confirmed 51 cases in the DRC's eastern provinces of Ituri and North Kivu, though officials warned the actual scale is much larger, with nearly 600 suspected cases and 139 suspected deaths. Uganda has reported two confirmed cases in its capital Kampala, including one death, while American doctor Peter Stafford, who was working in the DRC, was evacuated to Germany for treatment. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva that the risk assessment shows the epidemic is high at national and regional levels but low globally. He explained that given the scale of transmission already detected, investigators believe the outbreak likely began several months ago before being identified. The emergency committee, which convened Tuesday, agreed that while the situation warrants serious concern about potential further spread, it does not currently satisfy the criteria for the highest pandemic emergency level under International Health Regulations. The declaration of a public health emergency of international concern, the second-highest alarm level under IHR, has triggered emergency responses in countries worldwide. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized the WHO earlier this week, saying the organization was "a little late" in identifying the outbreak. Tedros responded that critics may lack understanding of how the International Health Regulations work, noting that WHO acts in support of countries rather than replacing them in outbreak responses. The criticism comes amid ongoing tensions following President Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the WHO, a move that public health experts warned could hamper global efforts to combat disease outbreaks, particularly in lower-income countries.