Apr. 10, 2026

Washington Joins World Health Organization Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network

The Washington State Department of Health has been accepted into the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network. Washington is the fifth state health department to apply and be accepted since the United States fully exited the WHO in January.

By joining the network, the Department of Health ensures Washington state’s continued access to critical global intelligence for responding to acute state and global health needs. The WHO network includes, worldwide, more than 360 public health agencies, national governments, academic centers, laboratories, and response organizations focused on rapidly detecting and responding to public health emergencies across the globe.

Joining the WHO network is the latest move by Washington state to protect public health from recent federal decisions running counter to decades of health expert consensus. Last month, the WSMA celebrated passage of House Bill 2242 moving decision-making authority on vaccines and other preventive health services from the federal government to the Department of Health. Earlier in 2025, Washington state, Oregon, California, and Hawaii formed the West Coast Health Alliance to ensure public health recommendations in the four-state region are guided by science, effectiveness, and safety. The WSMA supported these efforts and will continue to endorse actions and policy based on science and evidence-based medicine.