President Javier Milei of Argentina ordered the country to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO). The move follows President Donald Trump pulling the United States from the WHO.
Milei’s spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, said the decision is rooted in “profound differences in health management, especially during the pandemic.” He noted the WHO guidelines led to the largest closures “in the history of mankind.”
Adorni added that Argentina will not allow the WHO to interfere with its sovereignty “and much less in our health.”
Trump’s order withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO describes the WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states” while continuing to “demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments.”
“While withdrawal is in progress, the Secretary of State will cease negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement and the amendments to the International Health Regulations, and actions taken to effectuate such agreement and amendments will have no binding force on the United States,” the order adds.
“China with 1.4 billion people, they were paying $39 million. We were paying $500 million. It seemed a little unfair to me,” Trump said upon signing the order.
“WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go,” the organization said as the U.S. withdrew, adding, “We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.”
