Top World Health Organization official sacked for 'sexual misconduct'

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday that it has dismissed one of its senior officials for "

" following at least three accusations of assaults having targeted him in recent years.

Fijian doctor "

ensuing disciplinary process", spokeswoman Marcia Poole told AFP in an email.

The WHO, which strives to practice a policy of "

" concerning reprehensible sexual behavior and aggressions of which its collaborators are guilty, did not provide details of the facts of which Dr Temo Waqanivalu is accused.

According to media reports, the practitioner, head of the non-communicable diseases division of the WHO, has been the subject of at least three allegations of sexual assault since 2017.

"Zero tolerance"

In January, the Associated Press identified him as the alleged perpetrator of a high-profile sexual assault during the WHO summit in Berlin in October 2022. A young British doctor, Rosie James, had to time recounted in a tweet “

” during the summit, and expressed the wish that the WHO investigate her case.

The director general of the organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had responded to his tweet in person, claiming to be "

" by his testimony and affirming that the WHO had a policy of "

".

According to the Associated Press, Temo Waqanivalu faced similar charges in 2018, with little impact on his career.

In April, the

reported a third charge against him, relating to an episode that took place in 2017. The WHO did not immediately confirm this information.

“Confidential mechanisms”

According to Marcia Poole, “

”.

For a year and a half, she said, "

”.

The WHO encourages all victims of sexual assault to approach "

" put in place by the organization to deal with cases.

The Organization launched its program to prevent various forms of sexual misconduct after being criticized for its slow response to allegations of sexual exploitation and assaults against aid workers sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the Ebola outbreak in 2018-2020.

In 2021, an independent report established that 21 WHO staff were among 83 aid workers charged with assaulting and sexually exploiting dozens of people in the DRC during the Ebola outbreak.