WHO fires doctor after findings of sexual misconduct by him

The World Health Organization says it has fired one of its doctors who faced allegations first reported by The Associated Press that he had repeatedly engaged in sexual misconductThe UN health agency had come under pressure from the United States and other countries to do more in the fight against sexual misconduct in the wake of the claims against the doctor Fijian national Temo WaqanivaluDr Temo Waqanivalu has been dismissed from WHO following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process said WHO spokeswoman Marcia Poole in a email to the AP early TuesdaySexual misconduct of any kind by anyone working for WHO be it as staff consultant partner is unacceptable she addedAlso Read India praised at UN meet in GenevaIn January the AP reported that Waqanivalu had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a Berlin conference in October and was flagged to senior WHO directors years ago for allegedly harassing another stafferThe earlier allegation didnt result in any significant consequences for Waqanivalu who headed a small team in WHOs noncommunicable diseases department and had been preparing to run for regional director of the Western PacificAccording to confidential documents obtained by the AP senior WHO directors were informed of a sexual harassment allegation made against Waqanivalu in 2018 The accuser was later informed that pursuing a formal investigation might not be the best option for herWaqanivalu was later given an informal warning that didnt cite the woman who made the claim or his specific behaviorIn interviews with WHO investigators Waqanivalu categorically denied he had ever sexually assaulted anyone He declined to comment to the APIn recent years WHO has been plagued by numerous reports of misconduct In May 2021 the AP reported that senior WHO managers were informed of sex abuse allegations during an Ebola outbreak in Congo but did little to stop it A panel appointed by WHO later found that more than 80 workers under WHOs direction sexually abused womenThe Western Pacific regional director that Waqanivalu was seeking to replace at WHO was put on leave in August months after the AP reported that numerous staffers had accused him of racist and abusive behavior that compromised the UN agencys response to COVID19Last month WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an email to employees that the appointment of the regional director Dr Takeshi Kasai had been terminated after an internal investigation resulted in findings of misconductThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever