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The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a "public health emergency of international concern".
This decision could encourage rich donor countries to provide more money.
But the WHO did not say the borders should be closed, saying the risk of spreading the disease outside the region was not high.
The epidemic in DR Congo has killed more than 1,600 people.
This week, the first case was detected in Goma, where live more than one million people.
The PHEIC emergency provision is the highest alarm level that the WHO can ring and has only been used four times before.
This includes the Ebola outbreak that devastated parts of West Africa from 2014 to 2016 and killed more than 11,000 people.
"It is time for the whole world to take note," said Wednesday the head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a press conference during which the state of Emergency was declared.
He stated that he accepted the recommendations, namely that there should be no travel or trade restrictions, nor any control at the entrance of pbadengers in the ports or airports located at outside the region.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies welcomed this initiative.
"Although this does not change the reality on the ground for the victims or partners involved in the response, we hope this will attract the international attention that this crisis deserves," he said in a statement.
How serious is the situation in DR Congo?
The outbreak, the second largest in history, began in August 2018 and affects two provinces of DR Congo, North Kivu and Ituri.
More than 2,500 people have been infected and two-thirds of them have died.
It took 224 days for the number of cases to reach 1,000, but only 71 additional days to reach 2,000.
About 12 new cases are reported each day.
Is there not a vaccine?
Yes.
It is 99% effective and more than 161,000 people have received it.
However, not everyone is vaccinated, with the exception of people who come in direct contact with a patient with Ebola and people who come into contact with them.
The vaccine was developed during the outbreak in West Africa and was available throughout the last outbreak.
Why has the epidemic not been controlled?
The fight against the disease has been complicated by the conflict in the region.
Since January, 198 attacks on health workers or Ebola treatment facilities have left 7 dead and 58 injured.
Another major problem has been the mistrust of health care workers, which explains that about one-third of deaths occur in the community rather than in a specialized Ebola treatment center.
This means that these people do not seek treatment and may spread the disease to their neighbors and relatives.
It has also been difficult to track the spread of the virus.
A significant number of cases is a surprise because the people affected did not come into contact with known cases of Ebola.
"It has been a year since the epidemic began and the situation does not improve," said Trish Newport, MSF's charity.
"It's a complex environment, with a long history of violence and conflict, and a lot of distrust of foreigners from outside.
"We need to create links and connections with the community so that they trust us."
Could the disease spread further?
The WHO says the risk for neighboring countries is "very high".
Uganda has already had a few isolated cases, including two people – a five-year-old boy and his 50-year-old grandmother – who died as a result of the disease. Rwanda is also in danger.
This week, a priest died of Ebola in the city of Goma, where more than one million people live. The city is a hub of transport and is located on the border between DR Congo and Rwanda.
The WHO said that there was a "game changer", but no case of spread of the disease in Goma has been reported.
Is the world doing enough to help?
For months, WHO has been aware that it has insufficient funds to deal with the problem.
He estimated that he needed $ 98 million to deal with the outbreak between February and July. Yet, it was $ 54 million missing.
What is Ebola?
- Ebola is a virus that initially causes sudden fever, severe weakness, muscle aches and sore throat.
- It turns into vomiting, diarrhea and internal and external bleeding
- People are infected when they are in direct contact with the blood, vomit, stool or body fluids of a person with Ebola through broken skin, or from the skin. mouth or nose.
- Patients tend to die from dehydration and multiple organ failure
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