Javier Milei will receive Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's Secretary of Health, tomorrow.

The head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., arrived in Argentina last night to begin a 48-hour official visit on Monday, marked by various meetings with national authorities. His agenda will conclude on Tuesday with a scheduled meeting at 10 a.m. with President Javier Milei.

This visit represents a new sign of alignment with Donald Trump's administration. In fact, Kennedy Jr. becomes the third high-ranking representative of the U.S. government to set foot on Argentine soil so far this year, following the arrival of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Southern Command Commander Alvin Holsey.

During his stay in the country, Kennedy Jr. will seek to open new avenues of bilateral cooperation and discuss possible alliances in the international health sector, especially considering that both the United States and Argentina have decided to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), a key point of convergence between both administrations.

The meeting with Lugones

This Monday, Kennedy Jr. will hold his first in-person meeting at 4:00 p.m. with Argentine Health Minister Mario Lugones, with whom he had already held a videoconference last month.

According to sources close to the matter, during the meeting both officials will exchange ideas on shared priorities in the health sector, including the reform and deregulation of the health system, the comprehensive treatment of chronic diseases, and the advancement of the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) program's goals, one of the main initiatives promoted by the U.S. official, focused on chronic disease prevention and the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits.

Although it doesn't officially appear on the agenda, Washington is watching with concern the Argentine legal framework regarding patents related to pharmaceutical inventions, which it considers insufficient. This is indicated by the most recent Special 301 Report, prepared annually by the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Although the concrete details of the measures are not yet known, it has emerged that Milei's government is working on a restructuring of the ministerial framework that will impact health institutions, in line with the reorganization recently announced in the area of the Secretariat of Culture. In addition, a relaxation of the drug patent regime is reportedly being considered.

Other meetings

Kennedy Jr. will also hold a meeting with Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein, although the most relevant meeting will be on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Casa Rosada, where he will be received by President Javier Milei and again by Minister Lugones. "The Secretary looks forward to engaging in substantive dialogue with President Milei on how to foster relations between the United States," the U.S. Embassy said in an official statement.

Kennedy Jr.'s arrival coincides with the World Health Organization (WHO) summit in Geneva, an event that both the Argentine government and Donald Trump's administration have openly criticized.

Meanwhile, Kennedy Jr. expressed his disagreement with the WHO, which he accuses of yielding to political pressures and of being influenced by the interests of countries such as China. This view is in line with the recent decision by Milei's government to formally withdraw from the international health organization, a notification that has already been sent to UN Secretary-General António Guterres and will take effect within a year.