Following a huge sexual abuse incident in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Health Organization published a plan on Thursday to prevent further wrongdoing by assistance workers deployed in its field operations in the country.
During the country’s huge Ebola epidemic from the year 2018 to 2020, an independent panel found that 83 aid workers, a quarter of whom were hired by the WHO, were involved in sexual exploitation and abuse.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, promised that the scandal and the victims’ suffering would be a spark for a significant overhaul in the culture of the international organisation.
In a statement on the WHO’s management response plan, he said there will be no chance for sexual exploitation to take place, no impunity if it does and no tolerance for lack of action against abuses.
Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesperson for the agency said at a United Nations news briefing on Friday, that WHO will investigate suspected acts of neglect by the senior personnel that may account for the misconduct, as recommended by the independent committee.
The WHO had already terminated the contracts of four employees identified as culprits and was forwarding the claims to Congolese authorities for criminal prosecution.
According to diplomats who spoke to the media last week, major funders, led by the United States and the European Union, have encouraged WHO to initiate a more thorough external investigation into the issue.
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