President Javier Milei has accused the worldwide well being company of mismanaging the Covid-19 pandemic
Argentina has introduced its withdrawal from the World Well being Group (WHO), citing elementary coverage disagreements, notably throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The transfer mirrors a call made final month by US President Donald Trump.
In a assertion on X on Wednesday, President Javier Milei’s workplace declared that the WHO, which was created to coordinate responses to world well being emergencies, had “failed its largest take a look at” throughout the coronavirus outbreak.
It additional claimed that the extended quarantines led to “one of many biggest financial catastrophes in world historical past.” In Argentina, the months-long lockdowns beneath the earlier authorities – endorsed by the WHO – crippled the economic system and resulted in 130,000 deaths, the presidential workplace argued.
Milei’s spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, instructed journalists that International Minister Gerardo Werthein had been instructed to provoke Argentina’s withdrawal.
“We Argentinians won’t permit a world group to intervene in our sovereignty, a lot much less in our well being,” Adorni acknowledged.
The nation doesn’t obtain WHO funding, so its withdrawal won’t have an effect on nationwide healthcare providers, Adorni assured.
The newspaper El Pais reported on Wednesday that the exit aligns with Milei’s long-standing opposition to lockdowns. In 2020, he actively protested towards the isolation measures imposed by then-President Alberto Fernandez. On the time, he described the lockdown as “a criminal offense towards humanity” that violated private freedoms.
Trump equally claimed the WHO had mishandled the pandemic and different worldwide well being crises, and had imposed “unfairly burdensome” monetary obligations on the US.
On his first day in workplace, he signed an govt order to provoke the method of withdrawing from the group, declaring that the US would go away it inside 12 months.
The transfer marked the second time Trump has ordered his nation’s withdrawal from the WHO. He took steps to exit the group in 2020, accusing it of aiding China in efforts to “mislead the world” in regards to the origins of Covid-19. His successor, Joe Biden, then reversed the choice on his inauguration day.
The WHO responded to Washington’s choice by expressing “remorse” and emphasizing its vital position in world well being and safety.
The US has traditionally been one of many WHO’s largest donors, contributing almost $950 million in 2024, or 15% of the company’s complete finances.
The self-described anarcho-capitalist Milei was the primary international chief to go to Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Florida property after the Republican’s 2024 US election victory.
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