WHO Dismisses Senior Official Over Sexual Misconduct Claims

The flag of the World Health Organization at its headquarters in Geneva on March 5, 2021. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

The World Health Organization (WHO) has dismissed one of its senior doctors at its Geneva headquarters after multiple women accused him of “sexual misconduct,” officials have confirmed.

“Dr. Temo Waqanivalu has been dismissed from WHO following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process,” WHO spokeswoman Marcia Poole said in a statement to Agence France-Presse on April 25.

Poole added that the agency has been working hard to improve its organizational culture and record of tackling sexual misconduct and abuse allegations.

“Sexual misconduct of any kind by anyone working for WHO—be it as staff, consultant, partner—is unacceptable,” she continued. “We encourage all those who may have been affected by sexual misconduct to come forward through our confidential reporting mechanisms. All cases will be reviewed promptly.”

Waqanivalu was informed of his dismissal on April 24, the Financial Times reported.

Physician Accuses Waqanivalu of Sexual Assault

Waqanivalu’s dismissal comes roughly six months after a woman claimed she was assaulted by a WHO staff member at a World Health Summit conference in Berlin.

At the time, Rosie James, a 26-year-old British-Canadian physician, wrote on Twitter that she was “sexually assaulted by a WHO staff” member at the meeting but did not specifically name Waqanivalu.

Her tweet prompted a response from WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who wrote that he was “so sorry” and “horrified” to learn of the alleged assault, adding that the WHO has a “zero tolerance” policy on sexual assault and would do “everything we can” to help James.

Months later in January, James told The Associated Press that Waqanivalu was the medic who allegedly assaulted her, and claimed that the incident occurred while they were having drinks with various other people in a hotel lobby one evening.

“We were talking about his work at WHO and he just started putting his hand on my bottom and keeping it there,” James said at the time, adding that she felt “intimidated” by the uncomfortable “power dynamic” between herself and the senior manager.

James told the publication that she moved away from Waqanivalu and joined other friends but that she later somehow ended up talking to him again, at which point he was “literally holding my bum cheek.”

She stated that Waqanivalu had “firmly held my buttock in his hand multiple times (and) pressed his groin” into her before later touching her breast.

Waqanivalu Given ‘Informal Warning’

James told The Associated Press that WHO had offered to reimburse her for any private therapy costs related to the alleged sexual misconduct by Waqanivalu.

Meanwhile, Waqanivalu reportedly told WHO investigators that he had greeted James that evening “by tapping her on her left upper arm” and did not believe that his behavior was inappropriate.

According to confidential documents obtained by The Associated Press, another sexual harassment allegation was made against Waqanivalu in 2018 for an incident that had allegedly occurred a year prior at a chronic diseases workshop in Japan.

However, the director of the WHO ombudsman’s office gave Waqanivalu a general “informal warning” regarding his alleged actions, according to the publication, while Waqanivalu “categorically” denied to WHO investigators that he had ever sexually assaulted anyone, including at the Berlin conference.

A person dressed in Ebola protective apparel inside an Ebola care facility at the Bwera general hospital near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Bwera, Uganda, on June 14, 2019. James Akena/Reuters

Further Accusations Against Waqanivalu

The Financial Times reported in April that Waqanivalu was being investigated for a third allegation of sexual misconduct regarding a junior employee in her mid-20s, which allegedly took place at a private networking event in 2017 dubbed “unwind/unwined.”

Waqanivalu could not be reached for comment. The Epoch Times has contacted the WHO for further comment regarding the accusations.

Waqanivalu’s dismissal comes as the WHO has faced multiple complaints of alleged misconduct in recent years, including a 2021 independent investigation that found that dozens of women were sexually exploited and abused by aid workers from the health organization during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo between 2018 and 2020.

A total of 21 WHO employees were among the 83 aid workers who allegedly sexually abused women and girls aged 13 to 43, according to the report, which included nine allegations of rape.

According to the report, many of the victims were promised jobs in exchange for the sexual acts, and taken to hotels and other accommodations rented by the perpetrators, where the alleged sexual abuse took place.

At the time, WHO chief Ghebreyesus said the misconduct was not only a “sickening betrayal of the people we serve” but also a betrayal of “our colleagues who put themselves in harm’s way to serve others.”

In March, the WHO said it had received allegations of misconduct against the regional director for the Western Pacific, Dr. Takeshi Kasai, during the latter half of 2021 and in 2022. The WHO did not elaborate on the allegations.

As a consequence, Kasai’s appointment was terminated and Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, who has served as officer-in-charge of the Western Pacific region since August 2022, has taken over the role until April’s elections take place for a new replacement.