WHO staff implicated in cases of sexual abuse in Africa, investigation found | On mission for the Ebola outbreak, they offered work in exchange for sex

An investigation ordered by the World Health Organization (WHO) identified over 80 cases of sexual abuse during the massive mission of the UN agency to Democratic Republic of the Congo during the Ebola epidemic, What involve more than 20 employees of the establishment. After hearing the news on Tuesday, CEO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus apologized.

“The first thing I want to say to victims and survivors is that I am sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry for what people hired by the WHO imposed on them to serve and protect them, ”he said. Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and promised “serious consequences” for those responsible.

The report, prepared by an independent commission, exposed one of the biggest sex scandals linked to a United Nations agency in years, which added to repeated accusations of abuses by peacekeepers on the African continent. , mainly in the peace missions of the Congo and the Central African Republic.

As the survey reveals, the sexual abuse was committed by WHO staff, both locally recruited and members of the international team fight against the Ebola epidemic in Congo between 2018 and 2020. Investigators noted that they also detected “structural flaws” and “individual negligence” in the organization, after interviewing dozens of women who were raped or offered work in exchange for sex.

“Interviews with key agency officials conducted by the review team clearly demonstrate that the organization, focused primarily on eradicating the Ebola outbreak, was completely unprepared to deal with the risks / incidents of sexual exploitation and abuse. The report says.

In all, 83 suspected perpetrators were identified, of which 21 were employees of the United Nations health agency.

One of the cases cited is that of Jolianne, the youngest of the alleged victims, who recounted how a driver from the organization stopped to offer to take her home while he was selling SIM cards on a journey in the commune of Mangina, in April 2019, instead. , he took her to a hotel where he raped her.

Women interviewed said the authors did not use any contraceptive method, which resulted in some pregnancies, while some have stated that the men who abused them forced them to have an abortion.

WHO’s response

“It’s a dark day for the WHO “, admitted Tedros, who is running for a second term at the head of the health agency, a candidacy that last week received the support of most countries of the European Union and even Kenya.

Following the publication of the report, WHO terminated the contracts of four workers, who remained employed by the organization, and two senior officials were placed on administrative leave.

“The others had short-term contractsTedros explained, adding, “We are taking steps to ensure that others who may be involved are temporarily relieved of any decision-making role. “

As explained, all defendants will be prohibited from working in the future, while WHO will forward rape complaints to national authorities for investigation, as well as to the countries of origin of alleged perpetrators.

In the meantime, he said that an outside body will be responsible for identifying individual flaws in his organization.

These sanctions were celebrated by the Congolese Union of Women in the Media (Ucofem), an organization that fights rape and sexual abuse of women in Congo, although they stressed the need to provide reparation to victims.

Repeated complaints

The commission of inquiry was launched by Tedros in October 2020, when the investigative work of The new humanitarian and the Reuters Foundation they exposed the scandal.

Last May, an investigation by the press agency Associated press (AP) also discovered that WHO senior management was made aware of several reports of abuse in 2019, but he couldn’t stop the harassment and even promoted one of the managers involved.

At the end of the same month, some 50 member countries of WHO had publicly expressed their frustration at the slowness of investigations and the lack of transparency.