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Argentina says it, too, plans to pull out of World Health Organization
Stephanie Soucheray, MA
Today at 4:22 p.m.
Public Health
COVID-19
Anti-science Two weeks after US President Donald Trump took office and said the United States would be withdrawing for the World Health Organization (WHO), Argentina President Javier Milei said today his country, too, would be pulling out of the international organization. '
Deep differences'
A spokesman for Milei cited "deep differences" between Milei and the WHO, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement posted on X, Milei said the WHO promoted "endless quarantines" without scientific support during the pandemic.
"It is urgent to rethink from the international community why supranational organizations exist, funded by all, that do not meet the objectives for which they were created, engage in international politics, and seek to impose themselves above member countries," the statement read.
Milei's complaints about the WHO echo Trump's, who long criticized pandemic recommendations from the WHO. Trump also said the United States pays an unfair amount to the WHO based on the US population.
The United States has been the WHO's biggest funder, supplying about 15% of the agency's budget. Argentina was expected to provide only about $8 million of the WHO's estimated $6.9 billion 2024-25 budget, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Spotlighting pandemic restrictions
Milei is a libertarian who was elected in 2023. Over the last year, Trump has called Milei his favorite president. Milei was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after Trump’s presidential victory in November.
Today WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, wrote on X, "These times are anything but dull."
WHO Executive Director Michael J. Ryan, MD, MPH, said, "We should be very sad to think that they would leave, but the 193 other (countries) will get on with the business of protecting health, providing health, and promoting health."
If other countries want to be like Trump and the US and be in his good standing, they could follow suit.
According to the BBC, Milei is expected to sign an executive order in the coming weeks formalizing his request to remove Argentina from the WHO.
Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, which publishes CIDRAP News, said he worries today's news is a sign of what he called the "WHO flu," whereby countries pull out of the global health organization for political reasons.
"If other countries want to be like Trump and the US and be in his good standing, they could follow suit," he said.
Argentina says it, too, plans to pull out of World Health Organization
Stephanie Soucheray, MA
Today at 4:22 p.m.
Public Health
COVID-19
Anti-science Two weeks after US President Donald Trump took office and said the United States would be withdrawing for the World Health Organization (WHO), Argentina President Javier Milei said today his country, too, would be pulling out of the international organization. '
Deep differences'
A spokesman for Milei cited "deep differences" between Milei and the WHO, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement posted on X, Milei said the WHO promoted "endless quarantines" without scientific support during the pandemic.
"It is urgent to rethink from the international community why supranational organizations exist, funded by all, that do not meet the objectives for which they were created, engage in international politics, and seek to impose themselves above member countries," the statement read.
Milei's complaints about the WHO echo Trump's, who long criticized pandemic recommendations from the WHO. Trump also said the United States pays an unfair amount to the WHO based on the US population.
The United States has been the WHO's biggest funder, supplying about 15% of the agency's budget. Argentina was expected to provide only about $8 million of the WHO's estimated $6.9 billion 2024-25 budget, according to a report from the Associated Press.
Spotlighting pandemic restrictions
Milei is a libertarian who was elected in 2023. Over the last year, Trump has called Milei his favorite president. Milei was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after Trump’s presidential victory in November.
Today WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, wrote on X, "These times are anything but dull."
WHO Executive Director Michael J. Ryan, MD, MPH, said, "We should be very sad to think that they would leave, but the 193 other (countries) will get on with the business of protecting health, providing health, and promoting health."
If other countries want to be like Trump and the US and be in his good standing, they could follow suit.
According to the BBC, Milei is expected to sign an executive order in the coming weeks formalizing his request to remove Argentina from the WHO.
Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, which publishes CIDRAP News, said he worries today's news is a sign of what he called the "WHO flu," whereby countries pull out of the global health organization for political reasons.
"If other countries want to be like Trump and the US and be in his good standing, they could follow suit," he said.