On Monday, May 26th, Argentina officially announced its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) and reiterated its commitment to deepening medical system cooperation with the United States. Currently, United States Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is visiting Argentina.
President of Argentina, Javier Milei, issued a statement explaining the reasons for the country’s exit from the WHO. The statement indicated that “the directives of the World Health Organization during the COVID-19 pandemic were ineffective because they were not based on science, but rather influenced by political interests, and were controlled by a bureaucratic system that refuses to reflect on its mistakes.” Previously, Argentina criticized the WHO’s isolation policies during the pandemic as “disastrous.”
The Milei government had first announced its plan to withdraw from the WHO in February of this year, stating its willingness to follow the same decision made by US President Donald Trump in January.
While Argentina officially announced its withdrawal from the WHO on Monday, US Health Secretary Kennedy was visiting Argentina and held a meeting with Argentine Health Minister Mario Lugones. Both parties reached a joint agenda aimed at enhancing the transparency and credibility of the healthcare system, focusing on prevention, food safety, and health expenditure efficiency.
Kennedy played a pre-recorded video at the WHO’s annual conference last week, urging governments worldwide to exit the organization and establish a new institution.
He directly criticized the WHO in his speech for compromising with Beijing during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing a lack of responsibility.
“The WHO is deeply mired in bureaucracy, rigid patterns, conflicts of interest, and the political quagmire of international powers,” said the US Health Secretary. “I urge health ministers of all countries to take the US exit as a warning. We have been in contact with like-minded countries and encourage other countries to consider joining us.”
Kennedy’s visit to Argentina is part of his regional international visits aimed at strengthening alliances and coordinating health policies.
From a fiscal perspective, Argentina’s departure from the WHO will have a relatively limited economic impact. Between 2024 and 2025, Argentina only paid $8 million to the WHO. In comparison, the United States is the largest donor to the WHO, having contributed nearly $1 billion in the past two years, with about $260 million being membership fees and the rest being donations, accounting for roughly 18% of the WHO’s budget.
At the same time, the Milei government announced a “structural review” of Argentine health institutions, aimed at “restructuring, updating, and enhancing transparency” in the health system, eliminating “years of overlapping operations, outdated regulations, and limited oversight structures and processes.”
Furthermore, the Milei government has ordered a review of all existing national institutions to “eliminate inefficiency and bureaucracy.”