New York City has joined the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN) following the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the global organization.
“After the U.S. Withdrew from the WHO in January 2026 The NYC Health Department is the first U.S. City Health Department to Join GOARN, an International Public Health Network That Provides Information and Resources to Control Outbreaks and Emergencies Across the Globe,” the city announced in a release.
“New York City is a global city with 8.5 million residents and more than 12 million international visitors every year,” said New York City Acting Health Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michelle Morse.
“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,” Morse continued.
The New York City Health Department said it has joined the World Health Organization’s global outbreak response network following President Trump’s withdrawal of the US from the UN health agency https://t.co/o5D8aQNlEt
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 5, 2026
More from The New York Times:
The move represents the latest effort by New York’s health authorities to forge their own alliances with health agencies elsewhere, even as the federal authorities withdraw from partnerships and scale back efforts to prevent and snuff out disease outbreaks.
Last year, the city and New York State joined with several other Northeastern states to form a regional public health coalition to issue vaccine recommendations and coordinate public health policies. That move was a rebuke to the Trump administration’s shifts on public health guidance, as well as an attempt to create alliances and common cause with other health agencies as it became clear that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was going to provide less support and guidance than it had in the past.
Similar dynamics are playing out elsewhere. Several Western states formed a bloc called the West Coast Health Alliance. And California and Illinois have recently joined the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, an international effort by the W.H.O. to track and respond to emerging diseases.
“I refuse to sit by as Donald Trump undermines science and weakens our nation’s ability to detect and respond to global health threats,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said.
Illinois is joining the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.
I refuse to sit by as Donald Trump undermines science and weakens our nation’s ability to detect and respond to global health threats.
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) February 3, 2026
“By withdrawing from the World Health Organization, Donald Trump has undermined science and weakened our nation’s ability to detect and respond to global health threats. I refuse to sit idly by and let that happen,” Pritzker said in a release.
“By joining the World Health Organization’s coordinated network, GOARN, we are ensuring that our public health leaders – and the public – have the information, expertise, and partnerships they need to protect the people of our state. Across our state and alongside valued partners around the world, Illinois will continue to put science, preparedness, and people first,” he continued.
The Hill shared further:
GOARN states on its website that it is a worldwide organization featuring more than 360 institutions and networks “that respond to acute public health events with the deployment of staff and resources to affected countries.”
Last month, the U.S. officially left the WHO. President Trump began the exit process via executive order on the first day of his second term. The president pointed to the organization’s alleged “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic,” as well as “other global health crises.”
New York City is also under new management with Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), a democratic socialist whose underdog campaign last year shocked the establishment and garnered significant media attention.
