New York City has joined a United Nations-backed global health network following the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), as per the media reports.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that it is now participating in the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), becoming the first municipal health department in the US to do so after the country formally exited the WHO in January 2026.
GOARN is a global collaboration of more than 360 institutions and networks that support countries during acute public health events through the deployment of expertise and resources, as per information available on its website.
The development comes weeks after the US officially completed its exit from the WHO. President Donald Trump initiated the withdrawal through an executive order on the first day of his second term, citing the organization’s alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises.
Following the US exit from the WHO, California and Illinois have also joined the UN health body, underscoring growing state- and city-level engagement with global public health institutions despite the federal government’s withdrawal.
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