IL Joins World Health Organization Global Network After Trump Withdraws U.S.

Illinois is joining the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, the governor announced this week, after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the organization, a process that was finalized last month.

The organization's coordinated international network monitors and responds to global disease outbreaks. Joining it will allow Illinois to be "directly connected to timely global alerts, expert public health networks, and international response capabilities essential to protecting Illinois residents from emerging disease threats," according to a news release from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

“By withdrawing from the World Health Organization, Donald Trump has undermined science and weakened our nation’s ability to detect and respond to global health threats. I refuse to sit idly by and let that happen,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in the news release, issued Tuesday.

"By joining the World Health Organization’s coordinated network, GOARN, we are ensuring that our public health leaders – and the public – have the information, expertise, and partnerships they need to protect the people of our state.”

The WHO is the United Nations’ specialized health agency and is mandated to coordinate the response to global health threats, such as outbreaks of mpox, Ebola and polio. It also provides technical assistance to poorer countries; helps distribute scarce vaccines, supplies and treatments; and sets guidelines for hundreds of health conditions, including mental health and cancer.

Nearly every country in the world is a member.

In an executive order issued right after taking office, Trump said the U.S. was withdrawing from WHO due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises. He also cited the agency’s “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms” and its “inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”

The U.S. owes about $280 million to the global health agency, according to WHO. And Trump administration officials acknowledge that they haven't finished working out some issues, such as lost access to data from other countries that could give America an early warning of a new pandemic.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.