Argentina ratifies its exit from the WHO during Kennedy Jr.'s visit

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. traveled to Argentina on Monday to strengthen health ties with the country. During his stay, the government of Javier Milei ratified its decision to follow in the footsteps of the United States and leave the World Health Organization (WHO).

Argentina argued in a statement that "WHO policies do not work, because they are not based on science but on political interests and bureaucratic structures that are reluctant to review their own mistakes." The decision was initially announced by the Argentine president in February, a month after Donald Trump did the same.

Milei then accused the WHO of "nefarious" management during the COVID-19 pandemic and criticized its "caveman quarantine."

The meeting between Kennedy and Argentine Health Minister Mario Lugones was aimed at defining "a joint work agenda to strengthen transparency and confidence in the health system from a focus on prevention, food safety and efficiency of spending," the South American country reported.

"Together with Robert Kennedy, we believe in the future of collaboration in global health. We have similar visions of the way forward," said Lugones.

Kennedy, who is scheduled to meet with President Milei on Wednesday, last week urged other countries to withdraw from WHO and create alternative institutions. He stated that this U.N. agency is moribund, in a video broadcast at the organization's annual assembly.

In his speech Kennedy stated that the WHO is under undue influence from China, gender ideology and the pharmaceutical industry.

The Argentine government also announced a "structural review" of the national health agencies to "order, update and make transparent structures and processes" of the health system "which for years functioned with overlapping, obsolete norms and little supervision."