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Argentina formally withdrew from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry confirmed, following the example of the United States earlier this year.
The government of President Javier Milei, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, had announced its intention to leave the UN health body a year ago, questioning the WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Argentina will continue to promote international cooperation in health through bilateral agreements and regional forums, while fully preserving its sovereignty and its capacity to make decisions regarding health policies,” Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said on X.
Hoy se hace efectivo el retiro de la Argentina de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), al cumplirse un año de la notificación formal realizada por nuestro país.
La Argentina comunicó esta decisión mediante una nota dirigida al Secretario General de la Organización de las…
— Pablo Quirno (@pabloquirno) March 17, 2026
Last year, Argentina declared that WHO recommendations were “ineffective because they are not based on science, but on political interests.”
The U.S. formalised its withdrawal from WHO in January 2026, a year after Trump signed an executive order to exit the organisation.
WHO has long played a role in eradicating smallpox and combating public health threats such as polio, HIV, Ebola, and tuberculosis.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the U.S. exit made both America and the world less safe.
