Argentina ratifies decision to withdraw from WHO as RFK Jr visits Buenos Aires
The decision by Argentine President Javier Milei's government to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) was communicated to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr., who was visiting the South American country.
On Monday (May 26, 2025), during the official visit to Buenos Aires by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the government of Javier Milei ratified Argentina's decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Kennedy Jr. was received by Argentine Health Minister Mario Lugones, who announced in a social media post that the two had defined a "common work agenda."
"We believe in the future of collaboration in global health. We have similar visions about the direction we should take, so we will deepen our joint work between both countries," Lugones stated.
Exit from the World Health Organization (WHO)
Following the meeting, the Argentine Ministry of Health announced in a statement a "series of measures that reaffirm the health direction adopted by the South American country" and that are being implemented "within the framework of the official visit" by the U.S. Secretary of State. These measures number five and include Argentina's reaffirmation of its decision, announced last February, to withdraw from the WHO, an organization to which it has belonged since its creation in 1948.
"Today, evidence indicates that WHO prescriptions don't work because they are not based on science, but on political interests and bureaucratic structures that refuse to correct their own mistakes. Far from correcting its course, the WHO has chosen to expand powers that do not correspond to it and restrict the health sovereignty of countries," declared the Argentine Ministry of Health.
Milei's government maintained that, "given this, it is urgent that the international community rethink the meaning of supranational organizations."
"If they are funded by everyone, they must be accountable, fulfill the purposes for which they were created, and not become platforms for political imposition on Member States," the statement added.
Milei announced her intention to leave the WHO in February, two weeks after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing her country from the organization.
Vaccines and other measures
Following the meeting with Kennedy Jr., Lugones also announced that Argentina "will focus on the vaccine manufacturing, approval, and oversight processes, with the goal of ensuring that health decisions are based on public, verifiable evidence and effective controls." "Reviewing isn't denying; it's demanding more evidence, not less," the Argentine government argued.
The Argentine Ministry of Health also announced that it will intensify a structural review of the national health system and seek to restrict the use of potentially dangerous synthetic additives in food products. In addition, the use of rapid authorizations for very high-cost medicines, especially those intended for children and rare diseases, will be reviewed.
According to diplomatic sources, Kennedy Jr. also met this Monday with Federico Sturzenegger, Minister of Deregulation and Transformation of the Argentine State, and will be received at the headquarters of the Executive Branch this Tuesday by Argentine President Javier Milei.
Kennedy Jr. is one of the most controversial figures within the Trump administration and has been criticized for his anti-vaccine stance, although in recent months he has moderated his stance and has asserted that his children are vaccinated.