The top health authorities of the U.S. and Argentina are launching what they call an “alternative international health system” separate from the World Health Organization (WHO). On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed an executive order starting the yearlong process of withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO. In February, Argentinian President Javier Milei followed suit. In a joint statement Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Argentine Minister of Health Mario Lugones remarked on the decision to withdraw from the global health authority.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his Argentine counterpart on Tuesday announced the United States and Argentina are creating an “alternative international health system” to the World Health Organization (WHO). The announcement comes as both countries prepare to leave the global health alliance, and after the WHO adopted the first ever pandemic treaty, which says its aim is to help the world better respond to future health crises.

As they pointed to COVID-19 failures by the World Health Organization, the United States and Argentina launched an alternative to the WHO. A joint statement issued by both countries Tuesday pointed to what is seen as the WHO's COVID-19 shortfalls in the opening sentence. "The WHO's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed serious structural and operational shortcomings that undermined global trust and highlighted the urgent need for independent, science-based leadership in global health." U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Argentine Minister of Health Mario Lugones agree, according to the statement, that a new global focus on health issues needs to be developed. "Real health threats demand urgency and gold-standard science. Under President Donald J. Trump, the United States is restoring a sovereign, results-driven approach - putting people above politics."

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a fringe anti-vaxxer, met with the president of Argentina and discussed establishing a new alternative to the World Health Organization. While the substance of their meeting is important, all anyone can notice on social media is their bizarre photoshoot. That's the Secretary of Health and Human Services holding a chainsaw that belongs to Milei.

The top health authorities of the U.S. and Argentina are launching what they call an “alternative international health system” separate from the World Health Organization (WHO). On the …