Senior WHO official sacked over sexual misconduct
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The UN health agency, which has a long record of sexual misconduct and abuse cases, offers no additional information regarding its findings.
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A logo is pictured on the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Reuters)
Following at least three reported accusations against him in recent years, the World Health Organization announced on Monday that it had fired a senior employee due to "findings of sexual misconduct."
Temo Waqanivalu, a physician from Fiji, "has been dismissed from WHO following findings of sexual misconduct against him and related disciplinary process," spokesperson Marcia Poole said, as quoted by AFP.
The UN health agency, which has a long record of sexual misconduct and abuse cases, did not offer any additional information regarding its findings.
The top WHO official in charge of non-communicable illnesses, however, has reportedly been charged with at least three separate instances of suspected sexual misconduct since 2017.
He was identified as the suspected perpetrator in a widely reported case of alleged sexual assault during the World Health Summit in Berlin last October by The Associated Press in January.
At the time, a young British doctor, Rosie James, said in a tweet that she "was sexually assaulted by a WHO staff" member at the meeting.
I'm not allowed to comment. But sharing this in solidarity with others to show that speaking up is [although not easy!] an option. #HealthToo @womeninGH https://t.co/2kR5CCw0LL
— Dr Rosie James 🇨🇦🇬🇧🌎☮🩺 (@rosiejames96) April 24, 2023
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus himself replied to her tweet, stating he was "horrified" by the accusations and offering his personal assistance, claiming the agency had "zero tolerance for sexual assault."
Waqanivalu was reportedly accused of comparable sexual misconduct in 2018, according to AP, with minimal impact on his career.
Instead, he had been vying with high-level support to become the WHO's top official in the western Pacific area at the time the fresh accusation against him surfaced in October, as per the report.
A third charge against him, originating from an incident in 2017, was unmasked, according to The Financial Times.
Poole stressed that "sexual misconduct of any kind by anyone working for WHO - be it as staff, consultant, partner - is unacceptable."
She noted that over the past year and a half, "WHO has been implementing a comprehensive program of reform across the entire organization to prevent sexual misconduct and ensure that there is no impunity if it does and no tolerance for inaction."
"We encourage all those who may have been affected by sexual misconduct to come forward through our confidential reporting mechanisms," she said.
The WHO is allegedly undergoing a reform process after receiving harsh criticism for its tardy response to claims of sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian workers sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) during the 2018–2020 Ebola outbreak.
A 2021 independent assessment found that 83 humanitarian workers had been charged with sexually abusing and exploiting scores of individuals in the DRC during the Ebola outbreak, including 21 WHO staff.
Poole emphasized that WHO participates in the UN "ClearCheck" screening database, which is designed to prevent sexual abusers from being rehired by other UN agencies.
