The World Health Organization’s (WHO) member nations unanimously agreed on Friday to take note of Argentina’s declaration of withdrawal from the WHO, adding that they would always welcome full cooperation from Buenos Aires.
At the 79th annual World Health Assembly of member states, the WHO’s decision-making body, countries had to evaluate Argentina’s desire to follow the United States’ lead and exit from the United Nations health agency.
The assembly reviewed many suggestions addressing Argentina’s withdrawal notification and unanimously decided on a compromise text.
The assembly “noted” the correspondence received by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on March 17, 2025, alerting him that Argentina will resign from the WHO “effective one year after the receipt of that letter.”
The assembly “resolves that while the World Health Organization will always welcome the Argentine Republic’s full cooperation in the work of the organization, it is not considered that any further action at this stage is desirable,” the approved, brief resolution said.
Norway and Paraguay were the primary driving forces behind the agreement.
Buenos Aires made a tiny contribution to the WHO’s budget. The G20 countries’ participation fees for 2024 and 2025 were around $4.1 million per year.
A January report by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recalled that in 1949-1950, seven member states, including the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria, filed notices stating that they no longer considered themselves members.
When they resumed participation, the assembly decided they would make a “token payment” for the time their membership was inactive.
The resolution voted on Friday utilized the exact identical language as member nations did in 1950.
