BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AFP) — Argentina said Wednesday it will quit the World Health Organization, following in the footsteps of Donald Trump’s United States and citing similar complaints over the UN body’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Railing against the economic fallout of Covid-19 lockdowns, President Javier Milei lamented “one of the most bizarre crimes against humanity” as he explained the reasons for the move.

Argentina’s self-declared “anarcho-capitalist” leader said the WHO had been “the executing arm of what was the greatest experiment in social control in history.”

The South American country announced its withdrawal from the UN health agency two weeks after Trump, an ideological ally and hero of Milei, signaled Washington’s planned exit.

Milei’s decision was based on “deep differences regarding health management especially during the pandemic,” spokesman Manuel Adorni told reporters earlier, adding Argentina would not “allow an international body to interfere in our sovereignty.”

Argentina had been hard hit by the pandemic, with about 130,000 deaths, and Milei’s predecessor Alberto Fernandez imposed a five-month lockdown in 2020 widely perceived as crippling for a struggling economy.

Adorni insisted withdrawing from the WHO gave Argentina “greater flexibility to implement policies adapted to the context” locally, while ensuring “greater availability of resources.”

The WHO did not immediately comment on Argentina’s departure.

WHO data shows Argentina contributed about $8.75 million in membership fees to the organization across 2022 and 2023 — 0.11 percent of the total budget.

It was slated to contribute $8.25 million for 2024-2025.

The vast majority of the UN agency’s budget comes from voluntary contributions, however, and Argentina has made none in recent years.

Adorni said Argentina “does not receive funding from the WHO, so this measure does not represent a loss of funds for the country.”

He also accused the body of “a lack of independence.”

– ‘Endless quarantines’ –
Last year, Argentina refused to join a new pandemic protocol drawn up by the WHO and gave notice of its intention to withdraw from the agency altogether.

International relations expert Federico Merke, of the University of San Andres in Buenos Aires, said the move would leave Argentina isolated when it comes to information-sharing and cooperation in the case of a new pandemic or other health threat.

Milei is an avowed fan of Trump, who signed an order within hours of his January 20 inauguration for the United States to withdraw from the WHO, which he has also criticised for its pandemic handling.

Washington was the biggest contributor to the Geneva-based organisation, which Trump claimed had “ripped us off,” and the US withdrawal leaves global health initiatives short of funding.

Since taking office in December 2023, Milei has gutted public spending, having vowed to maintain a zero budget deficit after years of overspending.

His austerity measures are estimated to have tipped millions more people into poverty, but the country last year recorded its first budget surplus since 2010 while inflation fell by nearly half.

Milei was the first foreign leader to visit Trump at his Mar-a-Lago Florida estate after the Republican’s November US election victory.

His decision also casts new doubt on Argentina’s future adherence to the 2015 Paris climate change agreement, under which countries committed to limiting greenhouse gas emissions to keep global average temperature rise below a critical threshold.

Withdrawing the United States from the Paris pact was another of Trump’s first moves after taking office.

Milei’s Argentina, pushing for a free trade deal with the United States, has previously said it was “reevaluating” its strategy “on all climate change-related issues.”