New York has become the third state to join a network led by the World Health Organization after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the global body last month.
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) announced the New York State Department of Health has officially joined WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network on Tuesday, following Illinois and California.
The Democratic governor cast the move as a direct response to the nation’s withdrawal from the WHO, which her office says compromises the “country’s global health safety and preparedness to respond to future pandemics.”
The U.S. pulled out of WHO on Jan. 22, the last day of Trump’s appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The decision was expected after Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term, starting a one-year waiting period for the withdrawal process.
In making the decision, Trump cited WHO’s “mishandling” of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and “unfairly onerous payments” that the United Nations agency required of the U.S. as part of its membership. Hochul disagrees with the president’s reasoning.
“New York has always led in public health and safety and now we’re doing our part to protect lives while the federal government puts Americans’ health at risk,” Hochul said in a statement.
“By joining GOARN, we’re sharing our expertise, laboratories and highly skilled workforce to detect and respond to outbreaks worldwide while helping prevent global health threats from reaching New York State and the United States,” she added. “Protecting New Yorkers means protecting communities everywhere — I’ll always stand up for the health and safety of our state and country.”
New York’s entry into the GOARN comes less than a week after New York City joined the international public health network. Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been openly critical of Trump’s policies, including those related to public health, as they relate to cuts in federal funding.
CALIFORNIA BREAKS WITH REST OF US ON WHO AFTER TRUMP WITHDRAWAL
The GOARN features more than 300 technical institutions worldwide that detect, verify, and respond to global health emergencies and help countries with mitigating public health threats, according to the New York governor’s press release.
Tuesday’s announcement is the latest example of Hochul’s defiance of Trump’s public health policies. She is one of 15 Democratic governors who joined a public health alliance designed to counter the Trump administration on health issues, such as vaccine access. Govs. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and Gavin Newsom (D-CA) are also members of the alliance.
