The Ebola outbreak ravaging the eastern region of Congo is now serious enough to be considered a public health emergency of international concern, the World Health Organization announced Wednesday.

The decision, recommended by an emergency committee at the global health agency, is likely to trigger more aid for the humanitarian crisis that will soon enter its second year, experts said.

Since the outbreak began last August, more than 2,500 people have been infected and nearly 1,700 of them have died, according to the WHO. That makes it the second-deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.