BUENOS AIRES (AFP) — Argentina formally withdrew from the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday, the foreign minister said, following in the path of the United States which took the same step earlier this year.

The government of President Javier Milei, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, had announced its intention to leave the United Nations health body a year ago, criticizing the WHO’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Foreign Ministry said Argentina has now completed the withdrawal process within the timeframe stipulated by international treaties.

“Argentina will continue to promote international cooperation in health through bilateral agreements and regional forums, while fully preserving its sovereignty and its capacity to make decisions regarding health policies,” Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said on X.

Last year, Argentina had declared that “the WHO’s recommendations are ineffective because they are not based on science, but on political interests.”

The US formalized its WHO withdrawal in January, a year after Trump signed an executive order to exit the multinational grouping on his return to the White House.

WHO has played a role in eradicating smallpox and tackling public health threats like polio, HIV, Ebola and tuberculosis.

In January, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he deeply regretted the move, saying it would make the US and the rest of the world unsafe.