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The US flag being removed from outside the WHO headquarters in Geneva last month, signalling the country\u2019s exit from the global body. Since then, three US states and one city have opted to join the WHO\u2019s outbreaks network.<\/p>\n\tThe US flag being removed from outside the WHO headquarters in Geneva last month, signalling the country\u2019s exit from the global body. Since then, three US states and one city have opted to join the WHO\u2019s outbreaks network.<\/p>\n
The World Health Organization (WHO) has welcomed the decision of the US states of California, Illinois, New York and New York City to join its Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN)<\/a>.<\/p>\n GOARN is a global network of public health institutions, governments, academic bodies and laboratories that helps to detect and control infectious disease outbreaks and public health emergencies throughout the world.<\/p>\n Dr Maria van Kerkhove, WHO Director of Epidemic and Pandemic Threat Management, said that GOARN is an \u201casset to the world\u201d that currently has over 360 members.<\/p>\n Established 20 years ago, members include national and sub-national institutions with public health and field experience in outbreak response and preparedness, she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWe welcome anyone who wants to be part of GOARN to see our website<\/a> and fill in the application. It\u2019s an incredible network of national and sub-national institutes, student and academic organisations that meet regularly and share information. They are sometimes deployed to outbreaks around the world,\u201d Van Kerkhove told a media briefing on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s \u2018reckless decision\u2019 On 23 January, the day after the Trump administration completed its withdrawal from the WHO, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that his state would join GOARN.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump administration\u2019s withdrawal from WHO is a reckless decision that will hurt all Californians and Americans,\u201d said Newsom in a statement<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornia will not bear witness to the chaos this decision will bring. We will continue to foster partnerships across the globe and remain at the forefront of public health preparedness, including through our membership as the only state in WHO\u2019s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network.\u201d<\/p>\n Illinois Governor JB Pritzker followed suit on 2 February, stating<\/a> that US President Donald Trump\u2019s withdrawal of the country from the WHO \u201chas undermined science and weakened our nation\u2019s ability to detect and respond to global health threats\u201d.<\/p>\n By joining GOARN, \u201cwe are ensuring that our public health leaders \u2013 and the public \u2013 have the information, expertise, and partnerships they need to protect the people of our state\u201d, Pritzker added.\u00a0<\/p>\n Safety during FIFA World Cup<\/p>\n Last week (5 February), the New York City Health Department also announced<\/a> that it was joining GOARN, and on 10 February, New York State also reported that it would be joining GOARN.<\/p>\n \u201cTo 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,\u201d said Dr Michelle Morse, NYC\u2019s Acting Health Commissioner.<\/p>\n \u201cInfectious diseases know no boundaries, and nor should the information and resources that help us protect New Yorkers,\u201d she said, adding that GOARN membership would give the city direct access to information and partners during \u201cmajor events with high levels of international travel, such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup\u201d.<\/p>\n Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York State, also announced<\/a> her state\u2019s membership: \u201cBy joining GOARN, we\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n GOARN members hold weekly meetings, exchange reports on international global health issues, provide support, technical assistance and even send people to assist during outbreaks, if requested to do so.<\/p>\n MOUs in place of multilateralism? The Trump administration has tried to ameliorate its withdrawal from the WHO by signing health Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with former health aid recipients, trading ongoing health support for immediate access to all information about pathogen outbreaks.<\/p>\n This is in keeping with its America First Global Health Strategy<\/a>, published last September by the US State Department, which aims to \u201cmake America safer\u201d by \u201ccontinuing to support a global surveillance system that can detect an outbreak within seven days\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will accomplish this through bilateral relationships with countries,\u201d according to the strategy.<\/p>\n But the US has only signed health MOUs with 16 countries, and it has not yet translated any of these into bilateral agreements. In addition, the 16 countries are all based in Africa and do not appear to have been targeted because of their disease outbreak profiles. <\/p>\n SARS-CoV2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, originated in China \u2013 an unlikely candidate for an MOU. Meanwhile, a recent European Commission Joint Research Centre report<\/a> identifies Latin America as the region at highest risk of outbreaks of the diseases identified by the WHO as the most likely to cause epidemics and pandemics. Oceania is the second most likely area. The most risky countries are Papua New Guinea and the Republic of the Congo.<\/p>\n
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California Governor Gavin Newsom at the World Economic Summit in Davos recently, where he met WHO officials.<\/p>\n
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WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is \u201cnot worried\u201d that US bilateral health deals with various countries will replace multilateral bodies.<\/p>\n