Two experts appointed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to investigate allegations that some of its staff sexually abused women during an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have dismissed the UN agency’s efforts to excuse its handling of misconduct claims as “an absurdity”.
Some of the women allegedly abused say they are still waiting for the WHO to sack those responsible, and have not been offered any financial compensation nearly four years later.
In October 2020, Aichatou Mindaoudou and Julienne Lusenge were named by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to head a panel investigating reports that some WHO staff sexually abused or exploited women in the conflict-ridden region during the 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak.
Their review found there were at least 83 perpetrators of abuse who worked for the WHO and partners, and there had been complaints of rape, forced abortions and the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl.
It is the biggest known sex abuse scandal in the UN health agency’s history.
The panel also found that three WHO bosses mismanaged a sexual misconduct case first reported by the Associated Press, involving a UN doctor signing a contract to buy land for a woman he allegedly impregnated.
A confidential UN report submitted to the WHO last month concluded that the managers’ handling of that case did not violate the WHO’s sexual exploitation policies, because the woman was not considered a “beneficiary” of WHO aid, since she did not receive any humanitarian assistance.
Ms Mindaoudou and Ms Lusenge said in a statement: “The restrictive approach favoured by WHO is an absurdity.”
They added that beneficiaries of the WHO “should only be interpreted in favour of potential victims of sexual exploitation and abuse, with the view of maintaining accountability”.
Anifa, a Congolese woman who worked at an Ebola clinic in north-eastern Congo, said she was offered a job at double her salary in exchange for sex with a WHO doctor, and was still traumatised by the experience.
“How many times do I have to speak before (the doctors) at WHO responsible for the sexual abuse are punished?” she asked.
“If WHO does not take radical measures, we will conclude that the organisation has been made rotten by rapists.”
Anifa, who did not share her last name, said she did not expect any financial compensation from the WHO, explaining that “money will not erase the wounds I have in my heart”. She reported the alleged misconduct to the WHO in 2019, but never received a response.
Ms Mindaoudou, a former government minister in Niger, and Ms Lusenge, a human rights activist in Congo, also slammed the WHO for its failure to punish any senior staff linked to the abuse, saying there was a “culture of impunity” at the organisation.
When allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation surfaced in the press in September 2020, Mr Tedros said he was “outraged” and that anyone found to be involved would face serious consequences.
WHO emergencies chief Dr Michael Ryan claimed the agency had “absolutely no details” of the abuse.
But the internal UN report noted that Mr Tedros was informed of sexual abuse allegations in 2019 and that some cases of alleged misconduct were discussed by senior WHO staff shortly after they occurred.
Mr Tedros himself travelled to Congo 14 times during the outbreak and said he was personally responsible for the WHO’s Ebola response.
To date, no senior managers at the WHO linked to the sexual misconduct have been sacked; Mr Tedros said last month that because the UN report found there was no evidence managers acted improperly, three suspended officials returned to work.
The WHO has refused to comment on the internal UN report, but Mr Tedros has said repeatedly that he has “zero tolerance” for sexual abuse and exploitation, pointing to the creation of a new department to prevent misconduct.
Dr Gaya Gamhewage, who heads that work, told UN investigators that prior to being appointed, “sexual exploitation and abuse were not familiar terms to her”.
Mr Tedros said earlier this month that the agency has established a two million dollar (£1.67 million) fund to help survivors of sexual abuse in Congo, but it is unclear how many women have obtained assistance.
Jeanette, a woman who says she was impregnated by a WHO doctor while working at an Ebola centre in Butembo, said she was pressured into having an abortion, which nearly killed her.
She said she is waiting for the WHO to punish the doctor responsible for her pregnancy and has had no offers of financial compensation.
“I don’t have the strength to work since the abortion,” she said.
“WHO should know that their staffers are flatterers, freeloaders and liars.”
