Argentina has announced its decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) due to alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, a spokesperson for President Javier Milei said on Wednesday.
The move comes just two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump, upon beginning his second term, also declared the United States’ departure from the UN health agency.
Government spokesman Manuel Adorni confirmed the decision, stating, “President Javier Milei has instructed Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein to withdraw Argentina from the WHO.”
Echoing Trump’s stance, the Milei administration expressed strong disagreements with the WHO’s handling of the pandemic.
“We Argentines will not allow an international organization to interfere with our sovereignty and certainly not with our health,” Adorni emphasized.
During the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, Argentina enforced some of the strictest lockdown measures in the world. Residents faced prolonged curfews and, in many cases, were only permitted to leave their homes for essential shopping or medical appointments.
Milei, a right-wing populist, assumed office as Argentina’s president in December 2023.
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