Overview
- Governor Gavin Newsom announced California’s membership in WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network, describing it as a step to bolster rapid detection and response to health threats.
- Newsom met WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Switzerland to discuss collaboration on identifying and responding to emerging risks.
- The announcement follows the Trump administration’s formal withdrawal of the United States from WHO, with HHS saying all U.S. funding has stopped and communication will be limited to effectuate the exit.
- GOARN links hundreds of technical institutions and response organizations worldwide to verify and assess acute health events with cross-border potential.
- California framed the move as part of a broader strategy that includes the new PHNIX initiative, regional alliances, and a state law allowing immunization guidance based on independent medical organizations, while public health leaders criticized the U.S. withdrawal as harmful to surveillance.