WHO members decline action on Argentina withdrawal

May 23, 2026

Summary

WHO member states agreed no further action was needed on Argentina’s notice that it will leave the agency.

Why this matters

The decision shows how the WHO handled a member’s move to disengage while keeping the door open to future cooperation. It also draws on a precedent last used in 1950, giving the move historical and institutional significance.

At the 79th World Health Assembly, member states agreed by consensus that no further action was needed on Argentina’s notice that it will leave the World Health Organization.

The assembly noted a March 17, 2025, communication to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stating that Argentina would withdraw from the WHO effective one year after receipt of the letter.

In a brief resolution adopted Friday, the assembly said that while the WHO would always welcome Argentina’s full cooperation, “it is not considered that any further action at this stage is desirable.” Norway and Paraguay led work on the compromise text.

A January report by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recalled that in 1949 and 1950, seven member states, including the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria, said they no longer considered themselves members. When they resumed participation, the assembly decided they would make a “token payment” for the period when their membership was inactive. The resolution adopted Friday used the same language as the assembly did in 1950.

Sigrid Kranawetter, the WHO’s director for governing bodies, said: “I don’t like to use the word withdrawal because it’s legally not correct.”

The WHO is “not a social club” and “you don’t stop your membership,” Kranawetter said.

“There is no need for anyone who accepts the WHO constitution to withdraw from it, because you do not give up any part of your sovereignty when you accept the WHO constitution.

“If you stop engaging, if you stop working, that is the prerogative of a sovereign state. You can do that any time.”

During the assembly, China asked whether departing members could still participate in WHO frameworks. Its representative said, “Global public health is a whole and cannot be divided; no country can stay out of it.”

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At the 79th World Health Assembly, member states agreed by consensus that no further action was needed on Argentina’s notice that it will leave the World Health Organization.

The assembly noted a March 17, 2025, communication to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stating that Argentina would withdraw from the WHO effective one year after receipt of the letter.

In a brief resolution adopted Friday, the assembly said that while the WHO would always welcome Argentina’s full cooperation, “it is not considered that any further action at this stage is desirable.” Norway and Paraguay led work on the compromise text.

A January report by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recalled that in 1949 and 1950, seven member states, including the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria, said they no longer considered themselves members. When they resumed participation, the assembly decided they would make a “token payment” for the period when their membership was inactive. The resolution adopted Friday used the same language as the assembly did in 1950.

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