Countries have asked the World Health Organization for more details regarding investigations involving one of its senior officials as the agency’s governing body meeting closed over the weekend.
“Australia is aware and concerned by the allegations related to the WHO regional office for Western Pacific. The WHO plays an important role in our region and we recognize the efforts of staff working tirelessly through this pandemic. We take all allegations seriously and expect that independent investigations will … progress as a matter of priority in keeping with the WHO’s policy on preventing and addressing abusive conduct,” said a representative from Australia at Saturday’s 150th session of the executive board, adding that, “Australia has zero tolerance for inaction. We look forward to regular updates on investigations as they move forward.”
The Associated Press reported Friday that an internal complaint was filed by current and former WHO staff against Dr. Takeshi Kasai, regional director of WHO’s office in Western Pacific, which is based in Manila, Philippines.
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The complaint accuses the senior WHO official of racism against staff of certain nationalities and unethical behavior. One of the allegations in the complaint included Kasai allegedly asking a staff member “if she was incapable of delivering good presentations because she was Filipina.”
The AP said it has obtained “recorded snippets of meetings” in which Kasai made “derogatory remarks” on staff based on nationality, and that several WHO officials confirmed that the regional director “has made numerous racist comments in meetings denigrating people from countries including China, the Philippines and Malaysia.” The senior WHO official also allegedly blamed the rise in COVID-19 cases on some countries’ “lack of capacity due to their inferior culture, race and socioeconomic level.”
According to the report, more than 30 staff members were involved in writing the complaint, and that it reflected the experience of over 50 people.
“Further progress will also require a review of policy, reporting mechanisms, investigations, and consequences for perpetrators as well as managers who fail to respond effectively.”
— Ambassador Bathsheba N. Crocker, U.S. permanent representative to the United NationsKasai rejected the allegations of using racist language. He told the AP, “It is true that I have been hard on staff, but I reject the suggestion that I have targeted staff of any particular nationality,” adding that “racism goes against all of the principles and values I hold dear as a person.” He also refuted allegations of sharing confidential data on COVID-19 vaccination with Japan, his home country.
According to the report, the internal complaint was filed last October, and an email was sent to WHO’s senior leadership and executive board just before last week’s meetings.
The U.K. representative asked for clarification on whether an investigation regarding the claims in the report is taking place, and expressed “regret” over hearing about the complaint from a media report. The sex abuse scandal involving WHO staff during an Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo was also first reported by The New Humanitarian.
“These are precisely the kinds of organizational challenges we should be made aware of as a board so that together we can identify and tackle root causes and ensure robust processes are in place to follow up and provide appropriate support for those affected,” said the U.K. representative, adding that “we expect WHO to promptly investigate all allegations of misconduct and to provide support to those affected. And we expect that in the spirit of transparency.”
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In his remarks, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency has been aware of “some concerns since late 2021” and that an investigation is underway. But he said, “there is a limit to what we can say at this time and in this forum.”
“We will inform member states of further developments in due course,” he said.
The latest scandal came as WHO member states were made aware of staff concerns during the meeting. According to WHO staff associations representative, more is needed to support the mental health of WHO staff, “who are facing and have faced issues of harassment.”
The representative also said more resources are needed to ensure that internal justice systems within WHO “are operating with efficiency and they are operating effectively,” and called for “a stronger and swifter implementation of internal justice processes in the protection against retaliation.”
A report by the agency’s ombudsman also pointed out that while WHO has implemented many of its previous recommendations, there are still some outstanding issues, such as “abusive behaviors by some supervisors, insufficient managerial support and training and clear application of the duty of care, diversity and inclusion issues or poor protections against retaliation.” In addition, more is needed to embed WHO’s Values Charter, launched in 2019, in WHO practices, according to the ombudsman.
During the meeting, WHO also updated member states regarding its work to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment across the agency, including the appointment of a new head of investigations focused on sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment. All other investigations will remain under the director of the U.N. Office for Internal Oversight Services.
There’s been an increase in reports of allegations of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment made to WHO, which Tedros said “is an indication that the system is beginning to work better, and that victims and bystanders are more willing to raise an alarm.”
In the last two weeks, WHO has received three new complaints of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment from the Central African Republic, DRC, as well as the Republic of the Congo. WHO is also currently investigating 12 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse and 25 allegations of sexual harassment, he said.
In 2022, he said WHO will focus on “shifting to a victim and survivor centered approach,” and ensure that all of WHO’s workforce is “held accountable for SEAH and capacitated to act.” WHO also aims to develop a three-year strategy on preventing sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment from 2023 to 2025.
Several member states welcomed the progress made by WHO in tackling sexual exploitation, abusem and harassment, while emphasizing more needs to be done.
Ambassador Bathsheba N. Crocker, U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations, and other international organizations in Geneva commended WHO efforts to increase awareness on SEAH and conduct staff trainings, but said these are not enough without “sustained investments in evidence-driven survivor-centered, prevention, risk mitigation and response protocols.”
She said WHO “must also encourage reporting, respond promptly and appropriately when incidents are reported, and deliver survivor-centered services” and that “further progress will also require a review of policy, reporting mechanisms, investigations, and consequences for perpetrators as well as managers who fail to respond effectively.”
About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
