NEW YORK state announced on Tuesday that it has joined the World Health Organisation (WHO).

This follows the withdrawal from the UN agency by the United States following Donald Trump’s return to the White House last year.

The state’s Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said New York has “always been a leader” in public health and will now share its expertise and laboratories to address international outbreaks and prevent global health threats.

The section of WHO joined by New York, the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (Goarn), brings together more than 300 institutions and technical networks that offer detection, verification and rapid response to epidemic outbreaks, supporting countries with expertise, laboratories and operational co-ordination.

In January, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that his state’s Public Health Department had joined Goarn, making California the first US state to join up to the UN body.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, President Trump accused the WHO of “mismanagement” and slammed its role in other global health crises.

On the day he returned to the presidency, President Trump signed his country’s withdrawal from WHO.

In addition, the Trump administration has stated on several occasions that it does not intend to pay its outstanding debt to the agency for the 2024-2025 period, estimated to be up to $280 million (£205m).