BUENOS AIRES: Argentina said Wednesday it will pull out of the World Health Organization, following in the footsteps of the United States and citing similar complaints over the UN body’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Javier Milei’s spokesman announced the decision two weeks after President Donald Trump, an ideological ally and hero of the Argentine leader, announced Washington’s planned exit from the agency.
Milei’s decision was based on “deep differences regarding health management, especially during the pandemic,” spokesman Manuel Adorni told reporters, adding Argentina would not “allow an international body to interfere in our sovereignty.”
He cited the “longest lockdown in the history of humanity” and “a lack of independence (at the WHO) in the face of the political influence of some states,” without naming names.
Adorni insisted the measure gave Argentina “greater flexibility to implement policies adapted to the context” locally while ensuring “greater availability of resources”.
WHO data shows Argentina contributed some US$8.75 million in membership fees to the organization across 2022 and 2023 – 0.11 per cent of the total budget.
It is slated to contribute US$8.25 million for the two-year 2024/25 cycle.
The vast majority of the United Nations health agency’s budget comes from voluntary contributions, however, and Argentina has made none in recent years.
Adorni said Argentina “does not receive funding from the WHO, so this measure does not represent a loss of funds for the country”.
Last year, Argentina refused to join a new pandemic protocol drawn up by the WHO and gave notice of its intention to withdraw from the agency altogether.