New York City has joined a United Nations health network in the wake of the United States leaving the World Health Organization (WHO).

In a press release Thursday, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene said it is now participating in WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). The department said it is “the first municipal health department in the United States to join this worldwide network of public health organizations after the U.S. withdrew from the WHO in January 2026.”

“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 Michelle Morse said in a statement in the release.

“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.”

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.

Since the exit of the U.S. from the WHO, two states — California and Illinois — have joined the U.N. organization.

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