Argentina formalized its withdrawal from the World Health Organization

The Chancellor, Pablo Quirno, announced that Argentina has made effective the decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO). “Today, Argentina's withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) takes effect, upon completion of one year since the formal notification made by our country”, wrote the Chancellor on his X account. "Argentina communicated this decision through a note addressed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in his capacity as depositary of the WHO Constitution, on March 17, 2025. In accordance with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the withdrawal takes place one year after that notification," wrote the president. It should be noted that Argentina remains part of PAHO. The WHO's exit implies that the country would stop participating in the programs, funds, and technical forums coordinated by the organization. According to official sources, the Government anticipated that it will seek bilateral agreements and strengthen its own mechanisms for epidemiological surveillance and international cooperation. The immediate context of the decision is linked to a series of disagreements between the Argentine Executive and the WHO regarding health policies, particularly on issues of pandemics and drug control. The national administration maintains that the WHO has adopted positions that do not represent the interests of the member countries of Latin America.

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The determination announced by Pablo Quirno implies that Argentina will no longer receive technical assistance, funds, and participation in epidemiological information networks from WHO. "Our country will continue to promote international health cooperation through bilateral agreements and regional frameworks, fully safeguarding its sovereignty and its decision-making capacity in health policies," clarified the foreign minister. The news of the departure occurred in May of last year during the visit of the Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Milei's administration maintains that the departure responds to deep disagreements with the agenda and health approach of the international organization, objectives that it will seek to replace through direct regional cooperation and the maintenance of its membership in the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Authorities from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) had recent contact This mechanism, which to date was in charge of marketing vaccines, will now add locally produced high-cost medications. The meeting was led by Jarbas Barbosa, director of PAHO, and the Minister of Health of the Nation, Mario Lugones. This instance signified a change in the dynamics of cooperation. Also participating were Luis Fontana, head of ANMAT, officials from the Ministry of Health, and representatives of the national pharmaceutical chambers CILFA and Cooperala, as well as members of international laboratories grouped in the Argentine Chamber of Medicinal Specialties (CAEME) and more than forty national laboratories. From PAHO, Santiago Cornejo, director of the Revolving Fund, and the local representative, Eva Llovis, were present.

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Among the novelties, an initiative related to the National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT) was presented. In addition to continuing its functions of registering drugs in the country, the objective is for the organization to expand the range of its authorizations, so that they are automatically accepted by the countries participating in joint purchases through the Revolving Fund. with the main pharmaceutical laboratories based in Argentina, both national and international, to establish export quotas that allow increasing the volume of sales through the PAHO Revolving Fund.