New York City has become the latest U.S. area to join the World Health Organization (WHO) despite the country’s exit from the entity. The city now joins the states of California and Illinois in joining the organization.
By joining the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN), the city has access to more than 360 institutions and organizations that respond to public health events.
“New York City is a global city with 8.5 million residents and more than 12 million international visitors every year,” New York City Acting Health Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michelle Morse said in a statement. “To best prevent disease outbreaks and public health emergencies and to protect New Yorkers and visitors from them, the NYC Health Department is joining hundreds of public health institutions worldwide that share critical public health information to support life-saving prevention and response efforts. Infectious diseases know no boundaries, and nor should the information and resources that help us protect New Yorkers.”
California became the first state to join the network in January, with Governor Gavin Newsom (D) stating at the time that the Trump administration’s withdrawal from WHO was a “reckless decision that will hurt all Californians and Americans.”
Illinois joined the network this week, with Governor JB Pritzker claiming that the withdrawal has “undermined science and weakened our nation’s ability to detect and respond to global health threats.”
Last month, the United States officially left the WHO, a move aligning with President Trump’s 2025 executive order declaring that the WHO mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and failed to “demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”
