President Javier Milei has ordered Argentina's withdrawal from the World Health Organisation due to profound differences with the UN agency, a presidential spokesperson said Wednesday.

Milei's action echoes that of his ally, US President Donald Trump, who began the process of pulling the United States out of WHO with an executive order on his first day back in office on January 21.

Argentina's decision is based on “profound differences in health management, especially during the (COVID19) pandemic,” spokesperson Manuel Adorni said at a news conference in Buenos Aires. He said that WHO guidelines at the time had led to the largest shutdown “in the history of mankind.”

He also said that WHO lacked independence because of the political influence of some countries, without elaborating which countries.

Argentina will not allow an international organisation to intervene in its sovereignty “and much less in our health,” Adorni added.

WHO is the UN's specialised health agency and is the only organisation mandated to coordinate global responses to acute health crises, particularly outbreaks of new diseases and persistent threats including Ebola, AIDS and mpox.