Argentina to withdraw from World Health Organization
Argentine President Javier Milei has called the World Health Organization (WHO) "a nefarious organization" and promoting "the largest experiment in social control in history."
Buenos Aires.- Javier Milei's government announced that it will withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) due to "deep differences" with the organization in the health management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"President Milei instructed Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein to withdraw Argentina's participation in the WHO. This is based on the deep differences regarding health management, especially during the pandemic," announced presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni.
The decision was made in line with the announcement by US President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order for his country to withdraw from the organization. For the Executive, the recommendations of the WHO and the management of former Argentine President Alberto Fernández gave rise to what they described as "the longest confinement in the history of humanity" and "a lack of independence from the political influence of some States."
"Argentines will not allow an international organization to intervene in our sovereignty, much less in our health," the official specified. Adorni also clarified that Argentina "does not receive funding from the WHO for health management; therefore, this measure does not represent a loss of funds for the country nor does it affect the quality of services."
"On the contrary, it gives the country greater flexibility to implement policies adapted to the context and interests that Argentina requires, as well as greater availability of resources," he said, adding: "The President said it: decisions in Argentina are made by Argentines."
In a statement, the government said the WHO "failed its biggest test" by accusing them of promoting "eternal quarantines without scientific basis" during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Quarantines caused one of the greatest economic catastrophes in world history and, according to the Rome Statute of 1998, the quarantine model could be classified as a crime against humanity," they argued.
"Today, the evidence indicates that the WHO's recipes do not work because they are the result of political influence, not based on science. In addition, it has confirmed its inflexibility in changing its approach and, far from admitting errors, chooses to continue assuming responsibilities that do not correspond to it and limiting the sovereignty of countries," they concluded.
Finally, they questioned the existence of supranational organisations "that do not fulfil the objectives for which they were created, are dedicated to making international politics and seek to impose themselves over member countries."
Measures during the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Executive's criticism of the management of the pandemic during the government of former President Alberto Fernández focuses on the confinement imposed by the then president, which was strictly maintained between March and November 2020 and then slowly relaxed, although under a system of mandatory social distancing, which maintained significant restrictions on capacity and movement during 2021.
Javier Milei's government adds that the quarantine model implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and supported by the organization "could be classified as a crime against humanity."
"Today, evidence indicates that WHO's prescriptions do not work because they are the result of political influence and are not based on science," said a statement from the Presidency, which also called on "the international community to reconsider the purpose of supranational organisations."
US withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO)
Wednesday's announcement comes two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw his country from the WHO, arguing that his country contributed far more resources to the organization than China.
The US president had already signed his country's withdrawal from the WHO during his first term in the White House, more precisely in 2020, amid criticism of the organization's handling of the pandemic, but the measure never materialized due to the arrival of Democrat Joe Biden to power in January 2021.