The World Health Organization’s member states on Friday noted Argentina’s notification of withdrawal from the United Nations agency and said they would always welcome full cooperation from Buenos Aires.
At the 79th annual World Health Assembly of member states, the WHO’s decision-making body, countries had to consider Argentina’s wish to follow the United States and leave the body.
President Javier Milei announced last year that Argentina would be leaving the UN body, following in the footsteps of US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States.
The WHO assembly considered several proposals regarding Argentina’s withdrawal notification and agreed a compromise text by consensus.
The assembly “noted” the communication received by UN chief António Guterres on March 17, 2025 notifying him that Argentina withdraws from the WHO, “effective one year after the receipt of that letter.:
The assembly “resolves that while the World Health Organization will always welcome the Argentine Republic’s full co-operation… it is not considered that any further action at this stage is desirable,” the approved, brief resolution said.
Norway and Paraguay were the main drivers behind the compromise.
Argentina was a minor contributor to the WHO’s budget. The G20 country’s membership fees for 2024 and 2025 were around US$4.1 million a year.
A report by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in January recalled that in 1949-1950, seven member states – including the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria – issued notices saying they no longer considered themselves members.
When they resumed participation, the assembly decided they would pay a “token payment” for the period when their membership was inactive.
The resolution adopted Friday used exactly the same language as member states did in 1950.
WHO ‘not a social club’
Sigrid Kranawetter, the WHO’s governing bodies director, said: “I don’t like to use the word withdrawal because it’s legally not correct.”
The WHO is “not a social club” and “you don’t stop your membership,” Kranawetter said.
“There is no need for anyone who accepts the WHO constitution to withdraw from it, because you do not give up any part of your sovereignty when you accept the WHO constitution.
“If you stop engaging, if you stop working, that is the prerogative of a sovereign state. You can do that any time.”
She noted that with the recent hantavirus outbreak, “WHO is there to support”, and had been “working with Argentina on hantavirus very closely.”
In the assembly, China asked whether departing members could still participate in WHO frameworks.
“Global public health is a whole and cannot be divided; no country can stay out of it,” its representative said.
The African group, represented by Sierra Leone, said it “regrets any development that diminishes WHO’s universality, and encourages continued dialogue with the member states concerned.”
Argentina’s neighbours Bolivia and Chile said they recognised and respected Buenos Aires’ sovereign decision.
‘Regaining health sovereignty’
Argentina’s Health Minister Mario Lugones confirmed the withdrawal in a post on social media, proclaiming that the nation is “regaining health sovereignty” via the decision.
“A decision announced over a year ago and upheld with conviction at every relevant level,” Lugones stated in a message on X.
Attempting to defend the decision to cut ties, Lugones underlined the impact of the policies implemented during the Covid-19 crisis.
“The pandemic taught us a lesson we cannot ignore: cooperation does not work when it dictates the decisions of states or imposes solutions that are out of touch with the reality of each country,” said Lugones, who criticised Argentina’s previous government for having submitted “without question” to prolonged lockdowns that “were paid for by the children who missed classes, the families who lost income and the patients who did not receive timely care.”
Argentina’s health minister sought to reassure the public regarding the supply of essential medical supplies: “We maintain the necessary coordination with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for the procurement of vaccines and medicines through the Revolving and Strategic Funds.”
Argentina will not abandon international health cooperation, Lugones stressed, but said that the La Libertad Avanza administration would redefine the terms of such ties, citing the technical work carried out during the hantavirus outbreak as an example of autonomy.
“It establishes on what terms, with whom and for what purpose it coordinates technically. Deciding responsibly, safeguarding resources, strengthening health surveillance and defending a concrete idea: Argentines first,” he concluded.
Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno also backed the measure in his own post online, stating that “it represents the culmination of the process initiated last year by the firm will of President Javier Milei and confirms the legal validity of the sovereign decision adopted by the Argentine Republic.”
– TIMES/AFP/NA
