President Donald Trump on Thursday formally declared a public health emergency for the opioid crisis, an action that has been more than two months in the making.

Families, communities and citizens across our country are currently dealing with the worst drug crisis in American history and even, if you really think about it, world history, Trump said. That is why, effective today, my administration is officially declaring the opioid crisis a national public health emergency under federal law and why Im directing all executive agencies to use every appropriate authority to fight the opioid crisis.

A public health emergency is less expansive than a full-on national emergency, which Trump had previously suggested he would declare in this case, even though they are typically rare outside the scope of natural disasters. Declaring a national emergency would free up billions of dollars in federal disaster relief funds. The public health emergency fund currently only holds around $57,000 , according to the Department of Health and Human Services. It was not immediately clear what additional resources, if any, Trump plans to direct to the opioid crisis.