Following Trump, Argentina quits World Health Organization

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.

"ENDLESS QUARANTINES"

A statement from the president's office, issued after Adorni's briefing, elaborated on the decision.

It claimed the WHO had "promoted endless quarantines without scientific basis" as the world battled the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed millions of lives.

"The quarantines caused one of the greatest economic catastrophes in world history," the presidency said.

Self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" Milei is an avowed fan of Trump, who signed an order within hours of his January 20 inauguration for the United States to withdraw from the WHO, which he has also criticized for its handling of the pandemic.

Washington was the biggest contributor to the Geneva-based organisation, which Trump claimed had "ripped us off", and the US withdrawal leaves global health initiatives short of funding.

Since taking office in December 2023, Milei has gutted public spending, having vowed to maintain a zero budget deficit after years of overspending.

His austerity measures are estimated to have tipped millions more people into poverty, but the country also recorded its biggest-ever trade surplus in 2024 - partly due to an import and spending slump.

Milei was the first foreign leader to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate after the Republican's November US election victory.