New York City Joins WHO's Global Outbreak Response Network After US Exit

New York City’s health department said on Feb. 4 it has joined the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, becoming the latest Democratic-led jurisdiction to link up with the United Nations-coordinated public health system following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the WHO.

The move places New York City alongside California and Illinois, whose leaders have said they will participate in the global outbreak network despite the federal government’s formal exit from the WHO last month.

The WHO-coordinated Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) links hundreds of public health institutions worldwide to detect and respond to emerging disease threats.

“By joining GOARN, New York City gains access to a global network of over 360 institutions and organizations that respond to acute public health events with the deployment of staff and resources to affected countries,” the New York City Health Department said in a statement.

“Infectious diseases know no boundaries, and nor should the information and resources that help us protect New Yorkers,” Acting Health Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer Michelle Morse added.

Trump formally pulled the United States out of the WHO on Jan. 22 after completing a one-year withdrawal process triggered by a January 2025 executive order. The order suspended all U.S. funding to the organization and directed the recall of U.S. personnel working with the agency.

The president’s order cited the WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises” as reasons behind the U.S. withdrawal. It also singled out the WHO’s failure to adopt reforms and what Trump described as inappropriate political influence by member states as additional reasons for pulling out.

The United States had been the organization’s largest financial contributor, providing roughly $1.28 billion during the 2022--2023 biennium, according to the WHO.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/new-york-city-joins-whos-global-outbreak-response-network-after-us-exit