U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Argentine Minister of Health Mario Lugones issued a joint statement Tuesday announcing the withdrawal of both countries from the World Health Organization (WHO), citing the need for a new, science-based approach to global health cooperation.
The joint announcement described the WHO as increasingly politicized and financially imbalanced, stating that the organization had veered from its original mission. The two nations accused the WHO of becoming dependent on voluntary contributions and subject to non-scientific agendas, weakening its ability to address real public health threats.
In the statement, Kennedy and Lugones criticized the WHO’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing to “serious structural and operational shortcomings” that eroded global trust and delayed critical transparency. They expressed concern over early pandemic responses and the risks tied to certain types of research, saying the organization failed to provide timely access to information, which they argued had “devastating global consequences.”
“This marks the beginning of a new path,” the statement read, outlining a commitment to a modern global health model centered on “scientific integrity, transparency, sovereignty, and accountability.” Both nations pledged to pursue cost-effective, evidence-based interventions with a strong emphasis on prevention, especially in children, through tackling root causes like environmental toxins, nutrition, and food safety.
The statement emphasized urgency and “gold-standard science” as essential to facing modern health challenges. Both officials affirmed their nations’ commitment to a results-driven model that places people over politics and respects national sovereignty.
“We can no longer support a system that fails to protect our people or deliver on its mandate,” the joint statement concluded. “The United States and Argentina invite all nations committed to scientific integrity, transparency, and the defense of human dignity to join us in shaping a new era of global health cooperation—one focused on results, sovereignty, and a safer future for all.”
Secretary of HHS RFK Jr. poses with President of Argentina Javier Milei
during a meeting about both nations’ mutual withdrawal from the WHO and the creation of an alternative international health system
