Argentina also withdraws from the World Health Organization

(Patria) - Argentina will withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni announced today, Reuters reports.

This decision by Argentina comes after US President Donald Trump issued an executive order last month to withdraw the US from this global health organization.

Adorni stated that the WHO's management of the pandemic and the decisions of former president Alberto Fernández "led Argentina to the longest lockdown in human history" and that the country was subject to the political influence of certain states.

"Argentinians will not allow an international organization to intervene in our sovereignty, let alone in our healthcare," Adorni emphasized.

He added that Argentina does not receive funds from the WHO for healthcare management, and that the decision to withdraw will not mean cuts.

"This will not affect the quality of health services. On the contrary, this decision allows the country greater flexibility in implementing policies tailored to the context and interests that Argentina requires, as well as greater availability of resources. It strengthens our path as a country with health sovereignty," Adorni added.

As reported by the Buenos Aires Herald, in addition to withdrawing from the WHO, Argentina is also "considering leaving the Paris Agreement" on climate change.

Let us recall that on January 22, US President Donald Trump announced that the country would leave the WHO, adding that the global health agency had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.

Trump said at the time that the WHO had failed to be independent of "inappropriate political influence from member countries" and demanded "unfairly heavy payments" from the US that were disproportionate to the amounts paid by other major countries, such as China.

"The WHO has ripped us off, everyone is ripping off the US. That will not happen anymore," Trump stated when signing the executive order for withdrawal, shortly after his inauguration for a second term.

The move meant that the US left the United Nations health agency for 12 months and ceased all financial contributions to its work.

The US is by far the largest financial supporter of the WHO, with about 18 percent of its total funding. The WHO's last biennial budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.